Taichung's County Council speaker and vice speaker were detained early yesterday morning after nearly 10 hours of questioning in connection with several criminal charges, including murder.
At 3am yesterday morning, the Taichung District Court approved a prosecutors' request to detain county speaker Yen Ching-piao (
The approval will allow prosecutors a maximum of 60 days for questioning.
Both Yen and Chang are to be questioned in connection with alleged corruption, while Yen is also to be questioned over allegations of attempted murder and banditry.
In a rapid response to the detention of Yen and Chang, family members, lawmakers and local representatives came out in full force yesterday, claiming the charges brought against the two were, at best, politically motivated.
Sobbing as she spoke, Yen's wife, Hou Li-juan (侯麗娟), said, "the judicial system is unfair. He is just a victim of political persecution."
Yen's wife was flanked by rows of friends, family members and local representatives.
Among those present was lawmaker and close friend, Tseng Chen-nung (
Tseng said he was willing to stake his political career on Yen's innocence.
"If Yen is found guilty of killing any individual, is guilty of the crime of banditry or of bribery, I will step down from my post as a lawmaker," Tseng said.
"This is a bona fide case of political persecution."
Some speculate that because Yen and Chang are both influential members of Taichung County's two main political factions, the black faction (
For years, under the KMT, the two factions were powerful tools for mobilizing voters and reportedly for funneling election funds and conducting vote buying.
However, after last year's presidential elections and with the formation of the PFP, the power of the two factions has gradually weakened as members of the factions have been divided between the KMT and PFP, political analysts say.
During last year's presidential elections, Yen was kicked out of the KMT after he publicly supported then independent candidate James Soong (
Yesterday, Soong, distanced himself from Yen, saying, politicians "should be careful in what they say," when commenting on the case.
From the moment he was detained, Yen has voiced his innocence.
Television footage yesterday morning showed an exhausted Yen chewing a mouth full of betel nut as he was ushered off to the Taichung County detention center.
Yen, who looks more like a professional wrestler and goes by the nickname of "stone pumpkin," shouted "I haven't been judged yet and already I am guilty," as he was being escorted away by authorities.
Lee Ching-yi (李慶義), head of the Central Taiwan Special Investigative Force, denied accusations that the prosecutors' arrest was politically motivated.
"Prosecutors have been very meticulous and thorough in their approach to this case. All of the documents and evidence related to this case have been collected over a period of one to two years," Lee said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
NOVEL METHODS: The PLA has adopted new approaches and recently conducted three combat readiness drills at night which included aircraft and ships, an official said Taiwan is monitoring China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises for changes in their size or pattern as the nation prepares for president-elect William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comment at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, in response to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu’s (王定宇) questions. China continues to employ a carrot-and-stick approach, in which it applies pressure with “gray zone” tactics, while attempting to entice Taiwanese with perks, Tsai said. These actions aim to help Beijing look like it has
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,