The Tainan District Court approved yesterday prosecutors' request to hold incommunicado George Chang (張燦鍙), mayor of Tainan, for allegedly defrauding the city government in a land requisition scam.
The detention of both a city mayor and city council speaker for the same case is a first in Taiwan politics.
PHOTO: WU HSING-HUA, TAIPEI TIMES
Prosecutors allege that Chang, a 65-year-old member of the DPP, improperly ordered the requisition of land owned by Speaker Huang Yu-wen (黃郁文) and illegally allowed him to receive government compensation in return.
Huang has been detained since March 21.
The court cited four reasons for Chang's detention. "First, the land requisition was not reasonable, fair or necessary," a judge and court spokesman said in a press conference yesterday.
"Second, witnesses, namely other suspects, have said that Mayor Chang played the lead role in the land requisition and took part in the formation of an agreement allowing the purchases."
Also, the court had been shown written instructions from Chang in the case. In addition, the court said, Chang had failed to provide his written instructions concerning the land purchases to prosecutors until yesterday's questioning.
Two previous searches by prosecutors failed to find the documents. The court found credible the prosecution's contention that Chang might "destroy other documents not yet seized [by the prosecution]."
Chang's lawyer, Lee Sheng-hsiung (
"It's the prosecution's business to find the evidence. They shouldn't say you may destroy evidence just because they couldn't find the evidence," he said.
"Otherwise, every suspect could be detained," Lee added, saying he would appeal the ruling.
The Tainan City government held a press conference yesterday, in which a secretary for the mayor said that Chang, in his capacity as mayor, only handled the broad outlines of the land purchases and left the details to underlings.
The secretary said if there is any problem related to the requisition, the responsibility should fall on the departments in charge of the matter, rather than on the mayor.
Since last month, five people have been detained in connection with the land requisition scam allegations, including Huang, his wife Chang Su-chen (
Several city councilors are also suspected of having cooperated with Huang in the passing of the land requisition budgets.
The prosecution alleges that Huang has made around NT$160 million in illegal profits, while Chang, the former chairman of the World United Formosans for Independence (
In the city government's press conference yesterday, Chang's wife Chang Ting-lan (張丁蘭) said she and Chang's supporters might petition the Control Yuan to address what she called "judicial violence."
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source