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.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS