Kaohsiung prosecutors yesterday indicted Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠), a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and her sister, Chang Ying-chi (張瑛姬), on charges of corruption, violating the Government Procurement Act (政府採購法) and leaking confidential information in three separate cases.
The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office said it suspected that Helen Chang and Chang Ying-chi received more than NT$7 million (US$240,000) from their involvement in the cases.
Chang Ying-chi was a deputy secretary-general of the county’s trade and investment promotion association, a non-profit organization partly funded by the county government.
Photo: CNA
A total of 21 people, mostly contractors and university professors, were also indicted in the case.
Prosecutors said the commissioner was suspected of leaking confidential information to Chun Lung Development Co during the bidding process for the Dapumei Intelligent Industrial Park at the Dapumei Herbs Park in July last year, a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project, in exchange for helping the developer win the tender.
Prosecutors also suspected that the county government’s environmental bureau conducted more than 30 irregular public bids, which cost the county more than NT$100 million.
According to prosecutors, Chang Ying-chi and Chiu Feng-ming (邱豐銘), an official of the county government’s department of overall planning, planned more than 30 environmental projects, while several professors from various colleges are suspected of approving the projects without maintaining a neutral position as members of an evaluation process.
The professors, who are suspected of taking bribes from contractors bidding for the projects, allegedly distributed some of the money to Chang Ying-chi and Chiu.
National Open University’s professor Wu Ming-ching (吳銘圳), Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology professor Lin Jui-min (林銳敏), National Sun Yat-sen University professor Lou Jie-chiung (樓基中) and National Pingtung University of Science and Technology professor Chang Kuo-ching (張國慶) were indicted.
According to the prosecutors, the county government in May last year conducted a procurement project for garbage trucks and recycling vehicles.
The county government allegedly allowed a contractor surnamed Chen (陳) to win the project tender, after which Helen Chang allegedly received NT$1.9 million in kickbacks.
Commenting on the case, the DPP yesterday called for the judiciary to conduct a thorough investigation and not to do Helen Chang an injustice.
“We hope that the judiciary will not handle different cases with double standards and urge the investigators to do their best to seek the whole truth,” DPP spokesman Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said.
In line with the DPP’s regulations, Chang would not be reprimanded by the party yet, despite being indicted, Wang added.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
EASING ANXIETY: The new guide includes a section encouraging people to discuss the threat of war with their children and teach them how to recognize disinformation The Ministry of National Defense’s All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency yesterday released its updated civil defense handbook, which defines the types of potential military aggression by an “enemy state” and self-protection tips in such scenarios. The agency has released three editions of the handbook since 2022, covering information from the preparation of go-bags to survival tips during natural disasters and war. Compared with the previous edition, released in 2023, the latest version has a clearer focus on wartime scenarios. It includes a section outlining six types of potential military threats Taiwan could face, including destruction of critical infrastructure and most undersea cables, resulting in
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached