Fallout from the scandal involving former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世) could spread as Lin reportedly told the man from whom he allegedly demanded a bribe that he needed the money “to buy off some people” to help his company secure procurement contracts.
One day ahead of its scheduled publication date, the Chinese-language Next Magazine yesterday printed what it said was a transcript of conversations between Lin and Chen Chi-hsiang (陳啟祥), head of Kaohsiung-based Ti Yung Co (地勇選礦公司), a metal-recycling firm, that took place on Feb. 25 and March 10.
According to the transcript, Lin demanded that Chen give him NT$83 million (US$2.78 million) when Ti Yung was to renew contracts with CHC Resource Corp (中聯資源) and Chung Yao Corp (中耀企業), from which Lin had helped Ti Yung win contracts in 2010, in return for a NT$63 million bribe from Chen.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
CHC Resource Corp and Chung Yao Corp are subsidiaries of state-controlled China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s biggest steel maker.
The transcript showed that Chen did not agree to the demand and repeatedly expressed his wish that Lin could decrease the amount, but Lin refused.
“This time is different from last time because it was easy last time. This time it is difficult. The reason why I am imposing [such a large bribe] this time is that I am now in a different position ... I need to nobble some people to keep them quiet,” Lin said, according to the transcript.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
In 2010, Lin was a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker representing a constituency in Greater Kaohsiung. He lost his re-election bid in January this year and was appointed secretary-general of the Executive Yuan in February.
The transcript said Lin told Chen that he needed to buy off several “weiyuan (委員),” but he did not clearly specify what positions they held.
Local media suspected the term weiyuan may have meant lawmakers, lifa weiyuan (立法委員).
In the transcript, Lin brought up the name of KMT Legislator Wang Jin-shih (王進士), based in Pingtung County, but it was not clear whether Wang was involved in this case.
Wang, who is visiting China, issued a statement yesterday saying he had nothing to do with Lin’s case. Wang said he had contacted CSC and CHC Resource Corp once to ask them if they could provide one of his constituents with slag because the petitioner’s company needed the raw material, but his attempt was in vain.
“I don’t know why Lin Yi-shih talked about me,” said Wang, who pledged to cooperate with prosecutors if necessary.
According to the magazine, Chen said he was repeatedly called by Lin’s assistant, Neih Tsun-hsien (聶存賢), to meet with Lin earlier this year.
Chen reportedly said he did follow Neih’s instructions and only decided to record his conversations with Lin in late February after Lin earlier went berserk in response to his unresponsive attitude.
In an eight-minute telephone call late in February, Chen said Lin yelled obscenities at him. After the phone tirade, Neih called him repeatedly to request a meeting, prompting Chen to buy a recording device before he went to see Lin on Feb. 25.
Chen said he did not decide to report the case to Next Magazine until early last month after CSC, CHC Resource Corp and Chung Yao Corp refused to supply his company with materials.
Their refusal to restore supplies to Ti Yung was in defiance of a decision by the Greater Kaohsiung Government on June 1 that Ti Yung had addressed environmental pollution concerns, Chen said.
After June 1, Chen said he called Neih and told him that he wished Lin could “let go” of his businesses. Lin refused and instead gave him an ultimatum, Chen said.
Chen said he was “driven to rebellion by tyranny.”
Lin reportedly told Chen that he had the sole mandate to decide on the heads of CHC Resource Corp and Chung Yao Corp.
Asked to comment yesterday, Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) dismissed Lin’s claims. He said the government appointed executives to state-owned and state-controlled businesses in accordance with procedure, rather than based on a decision made by a single person.
Lin probably said so to bluff Chen Chi-hsiang into thinking that he had that kind of power, the premier said.
The case surfaced on Wednesday last week when Next Magazine reported that Lin accepted a bribe of NT$63 million in 2010 from Chen to help the company secure a slag treatment contract from CSC’s subsidiary.
It was reported that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) learned of the case on Tuesday last week before the magazine went to press.
Next Magazine reported yesterday that Ma failed to distance himself from the case at the very beginning because he believed Lin when he told him that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who also hails from Greater Kaohsiung, had fabricated the story to tarnish the Ma administration.
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