Keelung City Council Speaker Huang Ching-tai (黃景泰) was released on bail yesterday after prosecutors asked on Wednesday that he be detained on suspicion of influence peddling in a number of construction projects.
The prosecution on Wednesday asked the Keelung District Court to grant its request that Huang be detained. The request was rejected yesterday and Huang was released on NT$1.2 million (US$40,000) bail, but banned from traveling overseas.
The city council speaker was interrogated on suspicion of his involvement in pressuring Keelung City Government officials on construction projects.
Photo: Wu Sheng-ju, Taipei Times
The prosecutors had found stashes of cash in New Taiwan dollar and Chinese Renminbi with an estimated total value of about NT$5 million in Huang’s office on Tuesday.
The investigation team had immediately called for Huang’s financial records, suspecting the wads of cash to have been bribes, but Huang claimed that the money is his election campaign fund.
Huang is the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate for the year-end Keelung mayoral election.
KMT spokesperson Charles Chen (陳以信) said yesterday morning that since Huang is currently not in detention, which would have cost Huang his KMT party membership and with it his candidacy, “there is no question about using party discipline at this stage.”
However, the KMT might still lose its prospective Keelung mayoral aspirant, as the prosecutors lodged an appeal yesterday immediately after the court granted Huang bail.
The party said it would take measures to adjust to later developments in the case. If Huang is taken into custody, measures could include him being subjected to party discipline or his party membership being revoked, the party launching another primary or enlisting other possible candidates.
Former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) has been rumored to be one of the possible replacements.
Lo has caught the media’s attention by saying on Facebook, writing about the matter, that “there is no such thing as a definite candidate.” However, he declined to be specific on whether this “definite candidate” refers to Huang or himself.
While Charles Chen refused to comment on the expected impact or potential harm to the KMT’s election effort incurred by Huang’s case, KMT Legislator Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟) was explicit in expressing his worries.
“The prospects are not looking good. So the party would definitely deal with it, rather than leaving decisions to [Huang’s] personal will and causing further damage to the party,” Liao said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
RSS