Chiao Cheng-chung (喬正中), director of Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) presidential campaign office, was yesterday summoned by the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in the ongoing probe over the replacement of Hung as the KMT’s presidential candidate.
Chiao was summoned as a witness, the SID said.
Separately yesterday, the SID also summoned Hung adviser and speech writer Ko Ming-hsiu (柯明秀) for questioning regarding Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei’s (陳亭妃) allegation that two individuals had attended a meeting between KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Hung, in which Chu allegedly either pressured or enticed Hung to drop her candidacy.
Chen claimed the “two individuals” possessed an audio recording of that meeting.
The investigation also aims to clarify the allegation that Chu offered a payment of NT$30 million (US$917,824) to Hung as financial inducement in exchange for her quitting the race, which allowed the KMT to convene a party congress on Oct. 17 to nominate Chu to replace Hung as the party’s candidate.
Chen and Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安), took legal action against Chu and KMT Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) earlier this month, accusing the two of so inn a teng (搓圓仔湯), a commonly used Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) term that means “kneading to make rice ball soup.”
When used in a political context, the term means schemes involving the coaxing of a candidate to drop out of a race by offering money, a government position or other enticements.
However, such actions are a violation of Article 84 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法), which stipulates that “anyone who asks for an expected promise or asks a candidate or a person having the qualification of candidate to abandon the campaign or conduct certain actions by offering bribes or other undue benefits” is punishable by law.
On Oct. 21, the SID separately summoned Chu, Lee and Hung for questioning in the matter.
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
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