By 6pm on Jan. 2, newly elected legislator Yen Ching-piao's (
He had been detained for more than 300 days for corruption, attempted murder and firearms charges before he was finally sentenced to 11 years and released on NT$5 million bail on Jan. 2 pending an appeal.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
Yen, an independent legislator-elect from Taichung County, is the first politician in Taiwan to run a political campaign from behind bars and win.
For Yen, his supporters and his family, who ran the legislative campaign for him, his release is a gift from the goddess Matsu.
Following a visit to his ill mother, Yen led his family to the Chen Lan Temple (
Yen will join other legislators-elect and take the oath of office in the Legislative Yuan on Feb. 1.
Political analysts and Yen's family said that Yen's triumph in the Dec. 1 election was thanks to Yen's efforts in his constituency and his innocent image, despite the criminal charges.
"Yen has done a lot of work in his constituency in Shalu and Lungching," said Wang Yeh-li (王業立), a political scientist at Taichung's Tunghai University. "Although he is a controversial figure, we expected that he would receive a lot of votes even before the result was announced."
Yen's son, Yen Kuan-heng (
"President Chen Shui-bian (
"President Chen's remark enhanced the impression that my father was being persecuted, which really helped us in the election."
Yen Kuan-heng filled out his father's registration papers and campaigned on his behalf while Yen's case wound its way through the legal system during the campaign.
"I don't understand why my father is adored by his supporters, especially as he is a controversial figure," Yen said. "But I have seen something specific about him -- he can make friends with individuals from all kinds of backgrounds."
However, DPP legislator Chiu Tai-san (
"The Dec. 1 election was a crucial battle for the KMT's black faction," Chiu said. "Since Yen was the only candidate who could coordinate all the faction's supporters, the faction tried its best to help Yen."
Yen, who married at 17, was nicknamed "Wintermelon Piao" by his grandfather for his short and stout figure.
After a government crackdown on organized crime in 1986, Yen spent three-and-a-half years in Green Island's maximum-security prison. His participation in local politics began soon after his release.
As a member of the KMT's black faction in Taichung County, Yen worked as a borough warden (
Yen was elected chairman of the board of the Chen Lan Temple in Taichung County in January 1999.
His attempts to lead Matsu followers on a pilgrimage to China via Kinmen to worship the goddess Matsu in June 2000 made him more popular than ever.
Yen engaged in various bus-inesses, including gravel plants, cement factories and restaurants and became associated with gangsters and inter-faction rivalry.
Yen's secretary, Liu Shu-mei (
"Many of my friends have asked me why I want to work for a gangster, but he is really not the kind of person the media have portrayed," Liu said.
"I became involved when he decided which candidate to support in the presidential election, and his decision to support James Soong (
Liu said the KMT tried very hard to attract Yen's support for its candidates, but Yen finally turned down the KMT's request because of his cooperation with James Soong in the Taiwan Provincial Government.
"He is not well-educated, but he is an accommodating individual," Liu said. "He always tries his best to fight for the public interest. Most of those who criticized him have no idea about him at all."
The DPP's Chiu, however, holds a different view.
"He does a lot for his constituency, but what a legislator needs to do is not this kind of thing," Chiu said.
"He is just not professional enough for policymaking and debate, which are what legislators really need to do."
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
RSS