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.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS