The Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday denied that investigators in Tainan covered up a probe into corruption allegations against ex-Cabinet spokesman Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥) in 2014, when he was serving as a local government official.
Office official Lin Hung-sung (林宏松) said a review of case records showed that the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office acted appropriately when investigating Chen.
Prosecutors did not seek to cover up the case against Chen, which was closed in 2015 due to insufficient evidence, Lin said.
Chen resigned as Cabinet spokesman on Friday following media reports that he traded political favors for sex while serving as a public official in the Tainan City Government in 2012.
Following the reports, Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Chen Wan-hui (陳琬惠) released messaging records that purported to show Chen Tsung-yen promising to help hostess club operator Wang Hsiao-wei (王孝瑋) in his dealings with the local authorities.
Chen Wan-hui said that prosecutors in Tainan turned a blind eye to evidence of corruption while probing Chen Tsung-yen in 2014, after the evidence was revealed during an investigation into Wang.
The Ministry of Justice later on Friday said that it has instructed the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office to look into the matter.
Separately on Saturday, Vice President William Lai (賴清德), who was Tainan mayor in 2014, said although Chen Tsung-yen was a competent employee, honesty is essential to the job.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), who approved Chen Tsung-yen’s resignation the previous day, said the justice ministry would deal with the case accordingly.
Chen Tsung-yen, who has denied the accusations, served in the Cabinet only for 18 days before his resignation on Friday.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
RSS