Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄), the former Kaohsiung City Council speaker who was convicted in record time for vote-buying, is set to begin his 22-month jail term today.
But he probably won't be spending tonight in jail as there was speculation Chu had fled the country.
At a meeting last night in Kaohsiung, prosecutors could not confirm that Chu had fled and said they hope he would still report to serve his sentence.
"According to his family, Chu has been on a trip since Oct. 2," one of Chu's assistants, who refused to give his name, said earlier yesterday.
But the assistant said that he believed Chu was still in Taiwan but he did not know where.
Chu was one of the most high-profile catches in a crackdown on vote-buying when he was convicted in March of paying voters NT$500 each during Kaohsiung City Council elections on Dec. 1 last year.
The Taiwan High Court's Kaohsiung Branch upheld the verdict in May, and the Supreme Court turned down Chu's appeal on Sept. 25.
Chu never admitted to the charges and claimed that his case had been processed in less than a year, rather than the normal two to three years, because a bribe he gave to the Kaohsiung District Court President Tsai Wen-kuei (蔡文貴) was too small. Tsai denies receiving the bribe.
He has admitted, however, to bribing councilors to vote for him in the speakership election held on Dec. 25 last year. Prosecutors have recommended a 30-month prison sentence for Chu, who will be sentenced on Nov. 27.
Kaohsiung City Council Secretary-General Hsu Lung-sheng (徐隆盛) said the council had not yet decided how to fill the vacant speakership post.
"The council will meet on Friday to discuss whether we should elect a new speaker or let Deputy Speaker Tsai Sung-hsiung (
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique