On the basis of a confession allegedly faxed from Los Angeles by a former Changhua County deputy commissioner, DPP legislative candidate Chiang Chao-yi (江昭儀) filed suit yesterday against the KMT for buying votes during last year's presidential election.
The Changhua District's Prosecutors' Office (
On Sept. 23 this year, Chiang received the alleged confession by fax, apparently from Chang. Chiang transferred the fax to Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
Chiang approached a man who claims to be a KMT legislator and a close friend of Chang to authenticate the statement. The legislator added a statement to the fax, stating that Chang's signature was genuine, but insisting on remaining anonymous. The fax was then sent to the justice minister.
"The Ministry of Justice is making no official comment about the [alleged] Chang statement at this moment," said Chen at a press conference yesterday. "The prosecutors know how to deal with it and they will continue to investigate the case."
The alleged confession states that the KMT set aside NT$270 million to buy votes in Changhua District for the presidential election. He says that he received the order from the KMT's Changhua County headquarters to use NT$50 million to buy as many votes as possible. He personally received that sum at 3pm on March 10 last year.
Chang says he was in charge of buying votes in Yuanlin (
Approximately 900,000 people were registered as voters in Changhua County for the presidential election.
"The Changhua Water Conservancy Association Chairman Chen Ding-yun (陳釘雲), Changhua County Commissioner Juan Kang-meng (阮剛猛), Changhua County Council Speaker Pei Hung-san (白鴻森) and KMT Changhua County Headquarters Director Lay Min-yueh (雷民悅) were the four major players in Changhua County during the presidential election," the statement says.
"Other than asking for money from the governor, we also requested more monetary support from Chang Chang-pang (張昌邦), the former deputy minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs -- who is now the chairman of the KMT business committee -- during his regular visits to Changhua County," the statement added.
It also says that Chen, Juan, Pei, Lay and Chang often visited Chao Shou-po (趙守博), the former Taiwan governor who is now the head of the KMT's Organization and Development Committee, to request more funds.
The statement also says that Yeh Ching-feng (
Yeh was the Minister of Justice when the alleged vote-buying occurred. She was recalled by the KMT to run for z congressional seat in Changhua district this year.
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
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
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