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."
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,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS