A businessman who accused Changhua County Commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) of demanding kickbacks in a golf club development project said on Wednesday he has submitted supporting evidence to investigators.
Chiu Shun-chung (邱順鐘), owner of Nan Fong Golf Club in Nantou, accused Cho of demanding bribes of NT$120 million (US$4.14 million) to secure all the necessary permits for the development of Chang Nung Golf Club in Changhua, which was funded by the Changhua County Farmers’ Association.
Chiu said he had handed prosecutors an audio recording of a conversation between Chiu’s assistant and a cousin of Lai Wen-jen, chairman of the Taipei-based Wei Mon Industry Co.
Lai, a major contributor to Cho’s campaign, approached Chiu as Cho’s proxy and asked for an initial sum of NT$50 million, and a further NT$70 million to be paid after all the required permits were issued, Chiu said at a press conference on Wednesday, at which his attorney was also present.
The businessman said he was willing to pay NT$10 million, but not the amount Cho was seeking.
Chiu said he was told by a former director of the county’s Economic Affairs Department, surnamed Chou (周), that Cho’s approval would be required to obtain the permits to build the golf club.
Another county official advised that the soil excavated from the building site should be given free of charge to the county government in order to obtain Cho’s approval for the project, Chiu said.
According to the latest issue of the Chinese-language Next Magazine, Chiu said it only took two years to obtain three major permits from the central government, including an environmental impact assessment, but the county government had delayed other minor permits, thus stalling the project.
Chiu held the press conference after Cho earlier on Wednesday filed an aggravated defamation lawsuit against him at the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office.
Cho denied the corruption allegations, saying Chiu had fabricated the story.
Cho said the golf club project was not approved because it did not meet the relevant regulations and that an administrative appeal filed by Chiu had also been dismissed.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard