New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) on Thursday evening accused Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, and the family of his wife, Lee Chia-fen (李佳芬), of involvement in illegal gravel excavation along the bank of Yunlin County’s Jhuoshui River (濁水溪).
The Han-Lee family made “astounding profits by looting national resources” when Han was a KMT legislator and Lee’s father, Lee Jih-kuei (李日貴), was a Yunlin County councilor nearly two decades ago, Huang wrote on Facebook.
After receiving tip-offs, Huang said that he investigated the matter and determined that it was more outrageous than Han’s purchase of a Taipei luxury apartment worth NT$72 million (US$2.36 million).
Photo: Fang Bin-chao, Taipei Times
Later on Thursday, Han’s campaign office issued a statement denying that Han had any involvement in illegal activities, or that he used his power as a legislator for personal gain.
Politicians should debate policies and encourage progressive competition in the run-up to elections, rather than launching arbitrary attacks on a candidate’s family, it added.
At a news conference yesterday, Huang showed aerial photographs of the Siluo Bridge (西螺大橋) taken in 1994, 1999 and 2000, saying that Lee Jih-kuei had illegally excavated along the river bank for his company, Da-tong Gravel Co (大通砂石行), when he was a county councilor.
Authorities ordered a halt to the excavation, but Lee Jih-kuei was reluctant to do so, and even planned to build a gravel washing plant nearby, but dropped the plan when it was disclosed by the media, Huang said.
However, Lee Jih-kuei turned to collecting gravel near the river embankment, Huang said, questioning why government funds would be used to construct the embankment when the area was not part of an official flood prevention plan.
An embankment area would be owned by the government, but the user of that area was Lee Jih-kuei’s company, Huang said, adding that the family made illicit profits from exploiting government land.
Separately yesterday, Han said that everything should be handled through the legal process.
He said that, as a presidential candidate, he could not discuss the matter, but that his campaign office would address it.
Ye Yuan-zhi (葉元之), the spokesman for Han’s campaign headquarters, said that Huang has told a “story,” without solid proof.
Huang is manipulating a political issue, as shown by his statement yesterday that he would hold another news conference if Han’s response warranted one, Ye added.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang and Chen Yun
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS