Investigators yesterday summoned two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians in Chiayi County for questioning on suspicion of involvement in an irregular construction bid, in a move that the opposition said may have been politically motivated.
The Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said in a press statement that DPP Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) and DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), who is a former Chiayi county commissioner, as well as a number of county officials were summoned for questioning in the morning.
Former Council for Economic Planning and Development vice chairman Chang Ching-sen (張景森) and a contractor, Chun Lung Development Co (春龍開發公司) chairman Pan chung-hao (潘中豪), were also questioned.
Photo: CNA
A total of 60 people were questioned, the office said. Questioning was ongoing as of press time last night.
The office said that 13 prosecutors with the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office led 150 agents from the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) to search the county government, Chang’s residence, her daughter’s residence and other targets.
The prosecutors’ office said the investigation was looking into the Dapumei (大埔美) Intelligent Industrial Park at the Dapumei Herbs Park, which was a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project.
The prosecutors said that in the proposal, the county government and the contractor each provided NT$1.5 billion (US$50 million) for the project, while Chun Lung Development Co won a public tender held by the county government.
Prosecutors said they suspected Pan had bribed Helen Chang, Chang Ching-sen and Chen Ming-wen with “several million” or “tens of millions” of New Taiwan dollars to ensure his company obtained the project.
County government spokeswoman Hsu Shu-fen (許淑芬) told a press conference that 16 government officials, including Helen Chang, were summoned for questioning.
Vice Commissioner Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) said she had convened a meeting for chief officials of the county government, adding that she believed the county government was clean and innocent, and hoped that all officials could continue to work as hard as usual.
Lin said the county government had contacted the families of the officials who were being questioned and would keep them informed of the developments in the case.
Responding to the raids, DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said that as the investigation into a corruption scandal involving former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世), which has threatened to engulf the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), was ongoing, the sudden raid at the Chiayi County Government could be an attempt by prosecutors to shift attention away from the KMT administration.
Wang said the launch of the investigation was suspicious and could very well be motivated by politics.
Additional reporting by CNA
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS