Prosecutors on Thursday questioned former Tainan City Council speaker Kuo Hsin-liang (郭信良) and dozens of others over graft and profiteering allegations involving a development project, while some opposition party members supported Kuo.
Launched with searches at more than 10 locations around Tainan on Thursday, public prosecutors coordinated the operation with Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) units in southern Taiwan to gather evidence at Kuo’s residence, constituency offices and at his office at Tainan City Hall, as he serves as an independent city councilor.
Investigators also summoned the other principal figure in the case, Kao Ching-chien (高進見), warden for Tiansi Borough (佃西) in Tainan’s Annan District (安南), with prosecutors applying to have both men detained at a bail hearing yesterday.
Photo: Tsai Wen-chu, Taipei Times
The case reportedly centered on the rezoning of an agricultural plot into construction for residential building, for which Kuo and Kao allegedly received an estimated NT$10 million (US$320,307) in kickbacks from the developer.
Kuo served as city council speaker with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but was reportedly at odds with Tainan’s mainstream DPP groups, headed by Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) and Vice President William Lai (賴清德), a former Tainan mayor.
Seen as a maverick in Tainan politics, Kuo ran for re-election as council speaker in December last year against DPP candidate Chiu Li-li (邱莉莉) and Lin Chih-chan (林志展) for deputy speaker, then quit the party after he lost that race to serve as an independent city councilor.
Chiu and Lin have since been investigated following an accusartion of alledgedly rigging the contest.
Prosecutors said they had received tip-offs alleging bribe-taking and kickbacks on the Tiansi Borough land rezoning and development starting in 2013, and that one developer reportedly colluded with local officials to buy plots, with allegations of then-councilor Kuo demanding bribes.
Reports quoting locals said that the plots in Annan District through the rezoning process rose 20 times in value, from about NT$10,000 per ping (3.3 square meters) to NT$200,000 per ping.
The corruption probe led to the unusual situation for several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members to voice support for the former DPP member Kuo, as they alleged political interference in pressuring the judiciary to investigate.
Tsai Yu-hui (蔡育輝), KMT secretary-general for the Tainan City Council party caucus, yesterday decried the investigation as “revenge” against Kuo for running against Chiu Li-li, and also for Kuo’s long-running feuds against local DPP stalwarts.
DPP caucus Tainan spokesman Lee Chung-han (李宗翰) accused Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials for taking up petty political caims to meddle in the independent judiciary.
In other news, Penghu County Council Speaker Liu Chen Zhao-ling (劉陳昭玲) and her secretary were freed on bail on Wednesday following their indictment a day earlier for allegedly soliciting bribes from other local government officials.
Liu Chen of the KMT and her secretary, Chen Shu-mei (陳淑美), were released after posting bail of NT$10 million and NT$500,000 respectively, and were barred from traveling overseas.
The Penghu District Court approved their release on the grounds that both had been detained since March and had already admitted to their crimes, and were therefore unlikely to violate the terms of their bail agreement.
According to an indictment filed on Tuesday by prosecutors, Liu Chen instructed Chen to solicit bribes from officials in Penghu’s public transportation management office, education department and fire and public health bureaus between 2017 and 2021.
Specifically, Liu Chen and Chen pressured officials to pay them “lobbying fees” of between NT$100,000 and NT$1 million in return for favors, and, in one instance, paid Liu Chen NT$150,000 for her to buy a used luxury handbag, the indictment said.
In total, Liu Chen and Chen are alleged to have received NT$1.76 million in bribes, all of which was seized by prosecutors.
At the court hearing on Wednesday, Penghu District Prosecutors’ Office lead prosecutor Su Heng-yi (蘇恒毅) said he had no opinion on whether the suspects should be granted bail or remain in detention.
However, after his office conducted an initial round of searches in February, details of their investigation were leaked to Liu Chen, he said, showing that there is still a risk of interference in the judicial process that the court should “take seriously.”
Chen’s defense lawyer said the leaker had contacted Liu Chen directly, and that Chen was not involved.
Prior to her arrest in March, 67-year-old Liu Chen was a dominant figure in Penghu politics, having served more than 40 years in the county council, including 20 years as the body’s speaker.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated