Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Lien-fu (
Chiang is the second legislator-elect to be indicted on suspicion of vote-buying after the KMT's Lee Yi-ting (
Prosecutors requested that the Taichung District Court sentence Chiang to five years in jail and to suspend his political rights for an additional five years.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Chiang is suspected of paying a Taiping Township (太平) councilor surnamed Lin NT$50,000 (US$1,500) to buy votes for him.
Prosecutors seized video footage of Chiang offering Lin the money and asking him to distribute it. Lin is not seen accepting the money.
Prosecutors said Chiang also attempted to bribe a relative of his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rival Chien Chao-tung (
Four of Chiang's campaign staffers were indicted along with Chiang for their alleged involvement in the case.
Although Chiang and Lee have been indicted, they will assume their legislative seats on Friday. Prosecutors said they would file a suit with the district court seeking to annul Chiang's election win.
Chiang said after being indicted that he respected the judiciary and hoped the court would treat him fairly and clear his name.
When asked for comment in Tainan, KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he regretted the decision by prosecutors to indict Chiang, adding that he hoped the court would give Chiang a fair trial.
Ministry of Justice officials said yesterday several other legislators-elect would also be indicted based on evidence they had gathered.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS