When two suspected drug dealers were arrested in Taichung last week, the spotlight turned once again to a controversial figure on the other side of the country -- Hualien County Council Speaker Yang Wen-chi (
Last Saturday, officers from the National Police Administration's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested two Tai-chung men, 45-year-old Chen Hsien-chou and 38-year-old Shen Cheng-hsiung (沈正雄), while they visited friends in Taichung City's Liaoning Road.
The suspects then accused the Hualien speaker of being a drug kingpin and that he had intimate connections to organized crime in the area.
Rumors
Armed with a degree from the Dahan Institute of Technology's Department of Finance, the now 49-year-old Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) speaker began his political career in 1990, becoming a county councilor in his hometown, and eventually climbing the ladder to his current post as speaker.
Any number of rumors can be heard on the streets of Hualien about Yang's supposed association with drug dealing, but Hualien County Council Deputy Speaker Lin Lien-ming (林連明) said in his colleague's defense that Yang had expended considerable effort in cultivating a harmonious political environment in Hualien.
"Forget the party he belongs to; he has really achieved a lot for the residents of Hualien and he is always willing to negotiate with politicians from different parties -- as long as it's for the good of the people," Lin said.
A senior county law enforcement official, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Taipei Times that although Yang had nothing to do with drugs, he had been dealing with drug issues, including paying attention to particular cases, over a lengthy period of time.
However, the official said, a number of Yang's friends, including other politicians in the area, had definitely been involved in drug dealing and were currently under investigation.
Drug case
Yang made national front page news for the first time when he was associated with a drug case in Hualien County last year.
On Oct. 14, police received a phone call from a resident of Nanhua, alleging that people were dealing drugs in the area.
Seven officers hurried to the scene, where they arrested Lai Chiao-jung (賴樵榕), but three other suspects evaded arrest.
Police also discovered 28 heroin bricks weighing a total of 10.64kg, estimated to be worth more than NT$100 million, along with a pistol.
The police also discovered that three men -- Lee Wen-chien (
Officers suspected that the men were also narcotics dealers and that the bizarre scene was the result of a drug deal that went wrong.
The trio were taken to a police station, but there was apparently insufficient evidence to arrest them.
Yang then arrived at the station and escorted Lee, Chao and Chi to a hospital at their request.
While Yang said he was merely helping his constituents after police approved their release, his political opponents claim he used his position to pressure the officers into letting the three out.
But the senior law enforcement official who spoke to the Taipei Times said this was not true.
"This time, [Yang] was really misunderstood," the official said.
"When he took the three suspects away from the police station, he really didn't know that they were involved in a drug case," he said.
Renewed focus
But when the two men arrested last week told Taichung police that Yang was a key drug dealing figure, and that this was why he had helped Lee, Chao and Chen Ding-chi, the investigation took on a new complexion.
The pair told police they were part of the drug hijacking in Hualien.
They also said that when Hualien officers saw three suspects escaping from the scene, there were actually seven of them in total.
When approached by reporters, Hualien Chief Prosecutor Sun Chin-hsing (孫進興) said that law enforcement officers had not discovered sufficient evidence to prosecute Yang.
However, Sun said that it was a mistake for Yang to escort the suspects away from the police station.
"We did summon him in relation to this incident, and he answered our questions and provided his explanations as he was supposed to," Sun said.
"Although we can't tell you what he told us, I can assure you that he is `clean' at this time," he said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS