Prosecutors on Wednesday indicted Hsu Cheng-kai (許政鎧), a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) borough warden in New Taipei City’s Yonghe District (永和), and his aunt, surnamed Chen (陳), on charges of working for the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) in China’s Kunshan City last year to invite 12 borough heads to visit China.
Chen is the general manager of Rich Open Hardware Co in Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province, and a member of a local Taiwanese business association, the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office said.
Prosecutors said that Hsu and Chen were commissioned by the chairman and secretary of the Zhangpu Taiwanese Business Association under the direction of the TAO in Kunshan in August and September last year to invite borough heads from New Taipei City and their relatives to travel to China.
Photo: CNA
The wardens’ expenses were fully covered, while their relatives only had to pay for the airfare, about NT$17,000, with accommodation and meals covered upon arrival.
Hsu invited 12 wardens and four of their families to visit Kunshan, Changshu City, Wuxi City and other locations in China from Nov. 21 to 24 last year.
The group was accompanied by the secretary of the TAO in Kunshan, surnamed Xie (謝), prosecutors said.
They also met and dined with nine Chinese officials, including a first-level inspector from the TAO of Jiangsu Province surnamed Wu (吳), the deputy director of the TAO of Taizhou City in Jiangsu Province surnamed Yu (余), the director of the TAO in Kunshan City surnamed Wan (萬) and a bureau head of the TAO in Nanjing.
Prosecutors added that during the banquet, Chinese officials promoted ideals such as “the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one family” and “KMT, keep up the good work.”
The investigation by prosecutors concluded on Wednesday, and Chen and Hsu have been charged with contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法) for receiving funding from a source of infiltration for vote buying.
However, as Hsu and Chen have confessed to their crimes and exhibited good behavior, the prosecutors asked the court for lenient sentences.
As for the 12 wardens who accepted the discounted hospitality, the prosecutors decided not to pursue charges due to a lack of evidence.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS