Former National Palace Museum director Shih Shou-chien (
Shih was released yesterday after nearly six hours of questioning over alleged profiteering.
Yeh Chang-chi (
Wang Wen-lu (王文陸), a former general affairs department head, was released on NT$300,000 bail after questioning; two other suspects -- Wang Shih-sheng (王士聖), a former section chief, and Sun Chao-feng (孫兆鳳), a clerk -- were released on NT$100,000 bail each.
Two other former museum officials -- Hsueh Fei-yuan (
The questioning of the former museum staff came one day after prosecutors led more than 60 investigators in searching the suspects' offices and residences for evidence of irregularities.
At issue was a NT$385 million (US$11.53 million) museum renovation project that got underway in July 2004 and was completed late last year.
The Ministry of Justice's Bureau of Investigation has said that judicial authorities have not ruled out summoning Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (
Opposition lawmakers have asked Tu to explain his role in the case, but Tu has declined to comment. Instead, his aide said Tu would respect the judicial authorities' investigations and, if subpoenaed, would answer the summons.
Tu's aide said the case had been under investigation for some time.
Given Tu's position, the aide said he believed it would have been revealed long ago if Tu had been involved in any wrongdoing.
In Tuesday's raids, the offices and residences of architect Luo Hsing-hua (
Authorities said the raid was only launched after nearly two years of extensive investigation. The probe got underway after law enforcement authorities received a written petition.
Investigators said they had scrutinized many documents concerning the open tender for the renovation project, contract negotiations, meeting minutes and selection of qualified contractors.
Following a comprehensive scrutiny, law enforcement officials said they found suspected irregularities, including possible bribery and favoritism.
After securing search warrants, prosecutors from Taipei's Shihlin District Prosecutor's Office led investigation agents in raiding more than 10 locations on Tuesday.
The prosecutors said the museum renovation project had been tainted by repeated cost overruns.
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