Former Taipei Deputy Mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) was among the first of those indicted with former Taipei mayor and Taiwan People Party’s (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on charges of bribery and corruption to be released on bail this morning as he left the Taipei District Court.
It was expected that Pong would be released on bail as he had pleaded guilty during the investigation and had been unwell, Pong’s lawyer said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Pong told investigators what needed to be told, his lawyer said.
However, Pong’s bail, which was NT$5 million (US$150,000), exceeded what his family had expected, he said.
Pong was seen smiling and waving to reporters when he left the court.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗), finance chief of Ko's 2024 election campaign, who was also among the first of the defendants to be released on bail, left the court at 10.30am today.
Lee, who was released on bail of NT$10 million, wore a yellow jacket and a mask, holding hands with his family.
Ko, Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇) and Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京), founder and chairman of the real estate conglomerate Core Pacific Group, are still waiting for their lawyers or family to pay their respective bails.
According to today's ruling, Ko is to be released on bail of NT$30 million, Ying on bail of NT$15 million and Sheen on bail of NT$40 million.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
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