Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬), who launched a hunger strike on Tuesday, was discharged from hospital at her own request yesterday and escorted back to the detention center where she is being held in connection with a corruption case.
Su was rushed to hospital on Friday after her health deteriorated rapidly.
“She will continue her hunger strike and will continue to refuse preferential treatment by the detention house because she is innocent and believes she has been unfairly treated by the judicial system,” said Lee Chin-yung (李進勇), Su’s attorney.
PHOTO: CNA
Lee said that the hospital had complied with Su’s wish to be released so that she could return to the detention center to continue her hunger strike.
Although Su was upset about the prosecutors’ decision not to issue a summons before detaining her, she decided to protest by not appealing.
“We believe our appeal will not change anything, because prosecutors already believe that Su is guilty,” Lee said.
Yunlin prosecutors arrested Su at her home last Tuesday and she was placed in detention later that same day.
Su began her hunger strike shortly thereafter, even though judges granted her NT$6 million (US$183,000) bail the following day.
She refused to make bail, saying she could not afford it.
That same day, the Yunlin District Court announced it would detain her for two more months.
Prosecutors allege that Su was involved in a NT$5 million bribery case.
She has been accused of accepting the money from a contractor in return for helping speed up a landfill construction project by avoiding an environmental assessment.
Several DPP officials visited Su in the hospital on Sunday, including Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), former party chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), former vice premier Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) and DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德).
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it