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.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai