A special investigation team has taken steps to collect evidence of suspected irregularities involving former Kaohsiung mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who is now the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate for next year's presidential election, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said yesterday.
Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南), director of the Special Investigation Task Force at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, said members of the team had traveled to Kaohsiung on July 10 to collect files from the city government's Bureau of Public Works, Bureau of Civil Affairs and other agencies as part of its investigation into suspected legal transgressions involving Hsieh during his mayoral stint.
Prosecutors also questioned several city government staff members, Chen said, but added that the operation could hardly be called "a search of the city government," as a local daily described it.
Chen said he would consult with State Public Prosecutor General Chen Tsung-ming (陳聰明) before deciding whether to give a public briefing on the latest prosecutorial action with regard to Hsieh.
Since the Special Investigation Task Force was inaugurated on April 2, it has taken over the task of investigating 10 separate cases allegedly involving Hsieh. The cases had been transferred to the task force by the Kaohsiung branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors' Office and the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office.
Most of the cases are related to the Kaohsiung mass rapid transit (MRT) system, which is still under construction. Nine prosecutors from the special investigation team have been assigned to the cases.
Meanwhile, prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen (
A front-page story in yesterday's China Times said three special investigation team prosecutors -- Chu Chao-liang (朱朝亮), Lee Hai-lung (李海龍) and Wu Wen-chung (吳文忠) -- took away a large amount of files and documents from Kaohsiung city government offices earlier this week after questioning about 40 city officials concerning five cases involving Hsieh, including the election of Kaohsiung Bank board members, the Dream Mall project, the Kaohsiung Stadium project, a political contribution case and an alleged scandal involving the Kaohsiung MRT system.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
RSS