Newly elected Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄) once said that serving as speaker was the biggest wish in his life. His dream came true in Wednesday's election, but the vote-buying allegations against him has cast a shadow on his victory.
Coming from the Chienchen District of Kaohsiung, Chu first ran in city council elections as an independent candidate in 1972. Wu Der-mei (吳德美), Chu's wife, was expelled from the KMT as a result. Chu served two terms on city council, followed by two terms -- or 12 years -- as a member of the Control Yuan.
Wu was also elected as a city councilor and then served two terms as a lawmaker.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
The couple put a premium on establishing connections with local factions. Their political influence increased during the period when the two served in public office and the couple became one of the three major political families in Kaohsiung.
In 1994, the KMT recommended that Chu run for the city council and planned to nominate him as the party's candidate for the council's speaker. But Chu backed down and instead ran for deputy speaker because of then-speaker Chen Tien-mao's (陳田錨) bid for re-election. But Chu was defeated by Chang Rui-der (張瑞德), Chen's running-mate for the deputy speaker, in the second round of voting.
In 1997, Chu's metal companies faced a financial crisis, despite financial aid from KMT Business Management Committee Chairman Liu Tai-ying (
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
Financial problems contributed to Chu's defeat in his second bid for the speakership in 1998.
In May 2000, Chu and his wife were indicted for accounting fraud and embezzlement. But so far, no court hearing on the case has been held.
Chu had expressed strong ambitions for the speakership when running for another term as a city councilor in the Dec. 7 elections. But many believed that he stood little chance after prosecutors indicted him on vote-buying charges on Dec. 9.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
Despite his controversial background, Chu managed to secure the post.
Chan Yung-Lung
Chan Yung-lung (
Chan, a pharmacist, has twice before been nominated by the DPP to run for a councilor seat, but he only succeeded in this year's elections. Following his election, Chan and four other DPP councilors formed a faction which decided to support Chu. Chan said that if the DPP supported Chu for speaker, Chu would join the DPP after winning the election and help the party in the vice speakership race.
Wang Wen-Cheng
An arrest warrant has also been issued for Wang Wen-cheng (
During his time in the KMT, he served as a representative to the National Assembly, where he supported then-president Lee Teng-hui's Taiwan-first policies. He then joined the TIP, but when Hsieh decided to run for Kaohsiung mayor, Wang introduced Hsieh to Kaohsiung's political circles and helped him build a local contact network.
Once elected mayor, Hsieh appointed Wang director of the city's Bureau of Civil Affairs.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS