Taipei prosecutors yesterday listed Taipei City Secretariat Director Yang Hsi-an (楊錫安) as a defendant in their ongoing investigation of the scandal surrounding the Xinsheng Overpass reconstruction project.
Yang, the most senior Taipei official to be named as a suspect in relation to the scandal to date, was also prohibited from leaving the country after he was interviewed by prosecutors yesterday morning. He was released on NT$600,000 bail.
Earlier this month, investigators searched Yang’s office at the Taipei City Government and the Department of New Construction.
The investigation was launched last month after it was revealed that the city government’s floor price for the rejuvenation project went up from NT$1.62 billion (US$52.6 million) in the first round of bidding to NT$1.95 billion in the seventh round, raising speculation that city officials may have conspired with construction company officials.
Prosecutors said they discovered Yang had discussed the price for the seventh bidding before it took place through e-mails with construction company officials, saying this might be key evidence of Yang’s involvement in the scandal.
Former New Construction Department director Huang Hsi-hsun (黃錫薰) and former section chief Chen Chih-sheng (陳智盛) have been detained on suspicion of being involved.
Huang reportedly told prosecutors that Hau had given him instructions to the effect that the tender had to be concluded in the seventh round of bidding.
Prosecutors declined to comment on whether they would interview Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌).
Later yesterday, Hau announced that Yang would be transferred to a less senior position pending the investigation.
Deputy director of Taipei City Secretariat Office Chen Yeong-ren (陳永仁) is expected to take over as secretariat director.
Hau urged the prosecutors to uncover the truth as soon as possible and reiterated his promise to step down if he is found to be involved in the scandal.
“I am confident of my integrity, and believe that my integrity can withstand the probe. I will resign immediately if I am [shown to be] involved in the scandal,” he said at the Taipei City Hall.
Yang yesterday said he was “surprised” that prosecutors had listed him as a defendant, but added that he respected the probe.
Taipei City Department of Personnel Commissioner Han Yieng-chen (韓英俊) said regulations on rewards and disciplinary sanctions of civil servants state that civil servants who are taken into custody should be dismissed from their posts.
Hau had handled Yang’s case according to a “higher standard,” and Yang would probably be moved from his current position to that of an advisor, Han said.
Hau yesterday declined to comment on whether the listing of Yang as a defendant would affect his re-election bid.
Meanwhile, the latest poll by the Chinese-language United Daily News indicated a mayoral tug-of-war between Hau of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).
Hau had an overall support rate of 48 percent over Su’s 37 percent, according to the poll.
Among swing voters, however, Su received a slightly higher support rate of 51 percent, compared with Hau’s 49 percent.
Hau said the poll results were within the margin of error, adding that he would concentrate his efforts on municipal work and the upcoming Taipei International Flora Expo to strive for victory in the Nov. 6 election.
Su said the Taipei mayoral election was a tough battle, and vowed to continue canvassing to attract more support.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)