Yu Fang-chih (
Sung claims to possess magical powers, which he uses to solicit donations with promises of power, wisdom or fortune. Both the mayor and his wife have been the cult leader's sincere followers for years.
PHOTO: LIAO CHENG-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Sung was sued by some of his former followers for fraud in 1997. One of 17 defendants in the case was Yu, who was charged for helping Sung publish a series of religious books to attract followers.
Sung was found guilty that year, as was his assistant Cheng Chen-tung (
The case was appealed, and in yesterday's court session at the Taiwan High Court, Sung was accompanied by almost 100 followers, most holding flowers in deference to their leader.
During yesterday's proceedings, Yu said that she still firmly believes in Sung.
"Both my husband [Hsieh] and I still believe in Sung's divine powers to this day," Yu said yesterday.
After the session, Yu told reporters that Sung was absolutely innocent.
"I witnessed his divinity with my own eyes," Yu said, insisting that the cult leader's spirit could leave his body and move around.
In response, the Kaohsiung City Government issued a press release yesterday evening, saying that Hsieh supported his wife's words.
"Hsieh supports his wife and believes that her religious belief is good. He also hopes that people can respect the freedom of religious beliefs," the press release said.
According to police, Sung insisted during his investigation that he has supernatural powers and can get people to do whatever he says.
Police therefore invited him to display his powers in public. But he failed to persuade a standing police officer to sit down despite repeated attempts.
Sung also frequently used "divine photos" to win the trust of his followers.
The pictures usually depicted colorful rays of light in the sky and a ring of light around his head.
However, these photos were proven to have been doctored using basic computer graphics skills.
In 1997, then New Party Taipei City councilor Chu Mei-feng (
In 1998, Hsieh's close relations with the notorious cult leader were seriously questioned by the public during the Kaohsiung mayoral election.
It was not clear when the Taiwan High Court would rule on the appeal.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai