The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) won 15 out of 23 positions in yesterday's city and county council speakership elections, while the eight remaining posts went to independents.
In the deputy speakership races, the KMT won 14, independent councilors gained eight posts and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won just one.
The results were not without controversy as several of the winners have already been charged with or are suspected of involvement in corruption or vote-buying.
PHOTO: CNA
The Ministry of Justice said in a press statement that prosecutors nationwide had received many tips about vote-buying, and they would continue to probe the matter.
The re-elected speaker of the Tainan County Council, Wu Chien-pao (
Wu is alleged to have earned more than NT$1 billion (US$30.3 million) selling sand illegally quarried from the Tsengwen River (
Re-elected Changhua County Council Speaker Pai Hung-shen (
Re-elected Kaohsiung County Council Speaker Hsu Fu-sen (許福森), of the KMT, has a case pending against him in the Kaohsiung District Court. Hsu is charged with taking bribes and helping several unlicensed industrial waste handlers to secure waste disposal contracts. He is also charged with running a firm that dumped waste illegally.
Several Kaohsiung prosecutors appeared at the offices of the Kaohsiung County Council yesterday to supervise the election.
The city's prosecutors raided an illegal gambling house on Saturday night that was suspected of being used to generate funds for Hsu's speakership campaign.
Prosecutors suspect Hsu of offering councilors bribes ranging from NT$500,000 to NT$1 million in exchange for votes.
Hsu, Pai and Wu are all suspected of maintaining ties with gangsters.
Independent Tainan City Council Speaker Huang Yu-wen (
Huang allegedly received more than NT$100 million from Yiching Construction to arrange for the firm to win a contract in the Heshunliao (
Early yesterday morning the Tainan District Court issued an arrest warrant for KMT Tainan County Councilor Chen Tsung-hsing (
Chen's detention forced KMT Councilor Chou Szu-hai (
"We learned that Chen paid 22 councilors amounts ranging from NT$800,000 to NT$1 million. We are hoping that the councilors can report the matter to prosecutors voluntarily," said Yen Jung-sung (
Yen applied for permission to detain Chen late on Tuesday night, and the court agreed to his request early yesterday morning.
Independent Taitung County Councilor Lin Fu-hsiung (
His suggestion sparked a huge quarrel on the floor of the council.
Taitung County Councilor Li Chin-huei (
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
RSS