Amid a shouting match between pan-blue and pan-green supporters outside the Kaohsiung District Court yesterday, the court held the first proceeding of a case filed against Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), in which she stands accused of neglecting her duties during a typhoon day that left almost half of the city flooded.
Supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politician cheered outside the court as the mayor arrived at about 8am, while protesters chanted “Chen Chu, step down.”
KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅), one of those who brought the case against the mayor, was escorted into the court by KMT Greater Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Huang Chao-shun’s (黃昭順) campaign staffers.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
While police officers had been dispatched by the city government to separate supporters of the DPP and the KMT, members of both camps still engaged in verbal exchanges.
When Chen left the court, chaos erupted and one of Huang’s staffers was sent to the hospital after suffering an injury in the confusion.
Chiu and Huang have accused Chen of neglecting her mayoral duties when almost half of the city’s districts were flooded because of torrential rain brought by Typhoon Fanapi on Sept. 19.
Chen admitted after the typhoon that she returned to her residence for a short nap after inspecting flooded areas earlier that day.
However, Chiu alleged Chen was enjoying a hot spring in Kaohsiung County’s Tienliao Township (田寮).
Chen accused the judiciary of trying to affect her performance in the upcoming Greater Kaohsiung mayoral election by arraigning her hearing shortly after Chiu and Huang filed the suit.
“I hope prosecutors complete the investigation into the allegations efficiently,” she said when approached by reporters for comment, adding that Chiu and Huang should present evidence to prove their allegation.
Chen also complained about prosecutors’ decision not to arraign Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興), who was also sued by Kaohsiung County councilors on similar accusations.
Yang is running against Chen and Huang as an independent candidate.
Lending support for Chen, the DPP legislative caucus held a press conference in Taipei yesterday, accusing the KMT of relying on judicial interference for assistance in the campaign in the run-up to the Nov. 27 special municipality elections.
DPP caucus whip Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said that yesterday was the first day Chen took leave from her mayoral duties to campaign for her re-election and she had to spend it in court.
The fact that the Kaohsiung District Court had handled the case with such speed was evidence that the KMT was manipulating the judiciary, he said.
“This is an ugly day in the country’s constitutional history,” Pan said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying