Opposition lawmakers were demanding answers from the judiciary and aviation authorities yesterday after a private jet belonging to the owners of Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團), which is under investigation for the ongoing cooking oil scandal, flew from Taiwan to China.
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Director-General Shen Chi (沈啟) confirmed yesterday that a Gulfstream G450 private jet belonging to the Wei family departed from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) at about 9pm on Wednesday headed for China.
Answering questions at the legislature in Taipei, Shen also confirmed that Wei Ying-chou (魏應州), a senior Ting Hsin executive and eldest of the four Wei brothers, was on board the private aircraft.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
According to a Ting Hsin statement, Wei Ying-heng (魏應行), the youngest Wei brother, had left Taiwan for Beijing on board another of the family’s Gulfstream jets a few days ago.
The news sparked a furor because it was seen as an attempt by the Wei brothers to evade prosecution and remove their assets from Taiwan — the two Gulfstream G450 jets have a combined market value of US$50 million.
The four Wei brothers are the principal owners and senior executives of Ting Hsin and Wei Chuan Foods Corp (味全食品工業), which have been found to have sold adulterated oil and food products for many years.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) was furious.
“The Wei family’s private jets flew to China in front of everyone’s eyes. It is a clear attempt to hide their assets before the judiciary seizes them,” Tsai said.
Tsai said that it had been known a few days earlier that the two private jets were at the airport, but the second aircraft left Taiwan just before prosecutors applied to seize the Wei family’s assets on Wednesday evening.
“The Ministry of Justice allowed them to escape. It’s gross negligence by the government,” Tsai said.
Tsai added that he and other legislators had requested that prosecutors apply to seize the two jets on Monday, yet nothing had been done.
In response, CAA officials explained that the two jets were registered in China and as long as they complied with regulations, the aircraft could land and take off at the airport.
The CAA had contacted the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday after receiving the jet’s flight plan and were told the jet was not on the list of assets for seizure and that no one onboard was under investigation, officials said.
Besides the prosecutors’ office, CAA officials said that prior to the jet’s departure they also informed the Ministry of Justice and the National Immigration Agency, and after receiving consent and clearance the jet was allowed to fly to China.
The Ministry of Justice issued a statement yesterday saying that if prosecutors apply to seize the jets, the ministry can request the assistance of the Chinese government to detain the aircraft.
In a surprise move last night, one of the jets returned to Taipei International Airport from China at 8:30pm, Shen said.
Ting Hsin also confirmed the news, but it declined to reveal who was on board.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS