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.
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
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