Fugitive Yunlin County commissioner Chang Jung-wei (
At press time, Chang was being questioned by Yunlin Prosecutor Tsai Chi-wen (蔡啟文) at the bureau's central headquarters. He had been arrested earlier in the day when a car in which he was traveling was stopped in Yunlin County's Linnei Township.
Chang was being sought by Yunlin prosecutors as part of an investigation into the Linnei Township incinerator construction scandal.
A court had already sentenced Chang to 12 months in jail for bribery during the 1994 election for the Yunlin County Council speakership. That case is under appeal at the Supreme Court.
During a break in questioning, Chang told reporters that he was innocent and asked his constituents to continue supporting him.? He said he had nothing to do with the case.
Chang's sister, Chang Li-shan (張麗善) who is running for a seat on an independent ticket in today's legislative elections, yesterday told reporters that her brother had told her he would "clarify his situation" on Dec. 20. She was in tears when she spoke with the media, saying she felt helpless over her brother's arrest.
She said her brother was innocent and that ballots cast for her would be proof of his innocence in the matter and ensure that justice was served.
She asked that the investigation into her brother be fair and unbiased.
The investigation into the incinerator scandal began in June, when prosecutors received a tip-off from an anonymous informant who claimed that Yunlin government officials -- including Chang -- had accepted a substantial bribe during the tendering process for construction of the incinerator.
In July, Linnei Township Mayor Chen Ho-shan (陳河山) admitted that he had accepted a total of NT$18 million in bribes from contractors attempting to ensure that the construction contract was granted to them.
Chang went into hiding, and law enforcement officers believed that he had fled to China. His family, however, insisted that Chang had remained in the country, which was seemingly confirmed yesterday when Chang was arrested.
An arrest warrant was issued after Chang failed to answer prosecutors' summons on three occasions.
Chang's whereabouts were unknown from Aug. 13, when prosecutors and bureau special agents first raided his office and residence while investigating the incinerator scandal.
Prosecutors said Chang is in a difficult position in this case because witness testimony is decisively against him.
During a press conference late last night, police said they had arrested Chang after pulling over a car in which he and a few friends were traveling.? He was arrested at 5pm and brought to police headquarters for questioning at around 7pm.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
RSS