Lien Hui-hsin (連惠心), daughter of former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), was listed as a defendant yesterday for her role in a case involving her investment in a nutrition supplement company whose weight-loss pills were found to contain unauthorized drugs.
Previously listed as a witness, Lien Hui-hsin was subpoenaed yesterday evening as a defendant by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office after days of speculation about her role at Geneherbs Biotechnology Co (菁茵荋生物科技), whose weight-loss product Wellslim Plus+ was confirmed to contain banned substance, cetilistat, a lipase inhibitor designed to treat obesity.
The questioning was still ongoing at press time last night.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Her role has been in question since Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄) first raised questions about the pills last week.
Lien Hui-hsin at first said she was only an endorser for the company and denied any involvement in the management of the firm.
After Juan and DPP Legislator Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) broke the news about her NT$15 million (US$510,000) investment in the company as the majority shareholder with a 70 percent stake, Lien Hui-hsin later acknowledged the investment on Sunday in an interview, but insisted that her managerial role was only nominal and she did not run the company on a daily basis.
She is facing a sentence of up to two years for violation of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法) for using cetilistat in Geneherb’s products if her role as chief executive of the company is confirmed.
Yesterday morning the prosecutors’ office raided the offices of Wellcare Pharmaceutical Co (云丰生技醫藥), the manufacturer of Wellslim Plus+, for a second time, as well as the offices of a Wellcare subsidiary.
Agents from the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau questioned three defendants — Geneherbs general manager Tseng Hsin-yi (曾心怡), Wellcare chairman Huang Chen-kang (黃振康) and Wellcare research and development director Yeh Mei-keng (葉枚耕) — before transferring them to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for further investigation.
Meanwhile, prosecutors cited a report by the Taipei City Goverment’s Department of Health saying that 7Slim, another Geneherbs product, was also found to contain cetilistat.
In the interview on Sunday, Lien Hui-hsin questioned the timing of the probe as well as the extensive media coverage, saying that political influence could be a factor, while Lien Chan also came to his daughter’s defense on Tuesday, saying he did not want to see “any improper force influencing the authorities’ handling of the case.”
There have been rumors that the relationship between the Lien family and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has soured because of Ma’s perceived passiveness toward further investigations into the shooting of former Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman Sean Lien (連勝文), Lien Chan’s son, during a campaign rally in November 2010, as well as the election-eve shooting of then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and then-vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) on March 19, 2004, when they were running in a presidential election against Lien Chan and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).
On August 17, 2016, the Geneherbs Biotechnology Co was acquitted of the charge by the Taipei District Court.
This story has been updated since it was first published per request made in April 2021 by a lawyer representing Lien Hui-hsin.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
RSS