The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday questioned links between Nantou’s county chief, the premier and a convicted felon.
Premier Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) alleged association with a former Nantou County gang boss shows the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) rallying cry for clean governance was nothing but hot air, said DPP Spokesman Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌), demanding Wu explain his connections with a twice-convicted murderer or resign from his post.
Local media reported Wu and his wife were caught on camera vacationing in Bali, Indonesia, with Nantou County Magistrate Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿) and Chiang Chin-liang (江欽良), reportedly a crime boss in the county.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said the 43 year-old Chiang was convicted of murder for slaying a Changhua gangster and a Nantou County council member in 1983 and 1985 respectively. He fled from prison in 1989 during a hospital visit and was recaptured a year later, she said, adding that his rap sheet included more than 30 counts of illegal arms sales, extortion, assault and robbery.
In 2000, Chiang was released on early parole from his 20-year sentence and has since dominated the night market scene in Nantou.
While Wu dubbed Chiang a “changed man” who has turned his back on crime and dedicated the last decade of his life to charity work, DPP lawmakers said he was still heavily involved in underground syndicates and that Wu should step down over his links with Chiang.
DPP candidate for the Nantou County commissioner seat Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) also accused Lee Chao-ching of giving favors to Chiang through a monopoly on the gravel business in the county.
“Lee Chao-ching has claimed the Bali trip was purely a fact finding mission to help Nantou develop its tourism. If that was the case, why didn’t he apply for official leave instead of taking the days off as personal vacation time,” Lee Wen-chung said yesterday.
Tsai said Wu should address a rumor that Chiang’s people physically assaulted Non-Partisan Party candidate Chen Chen-sheng (陳振盛) and Chiang’s association with the local gravel industry.
The Ministry of the Interior will never win the fight against crime if the premier is friendly with gangsters, Tsai said.
Lee Chao-ching at a separate press conference yesterday denied all allegations on Chiang’s reported involvement in the gravel business and stressed all Nantou County gravel business tenders are conducted by transparent public bidding.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper), Chiang defended himself, saying he had paid his debt to society and is now an ordinary man trying to make an honest living and contribute to his community.
“This whole thing was staged by the DPP as an election maneuver, digging up mistakes I made more than 20 years ago,” he said.
Yesterday, Wu, who usally fields questions from reporters in person, issued a short statement instead.
In the statement, Wu said he has been a person of integrity during his political career of more than 30 years and his activities stand up to scrutiny.
Wu said he considers parolees to be normal people and believes they should receive encouragement and support from society if they sincerely repent.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) urged the DPP to present evidence to back its accusations and take the case to court instead of spreading “rumors” to sabotage Wu and Lee Chao-ching.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN AND FLORA WANG
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS