Prosecutors and investigators yesterday questioned former education minister Kirby Yung (楊朝祥) and former vice minister Lin Chao-hsien (林昭賢) concerning their roles in the Jin-Wen scandal.
Several officials from the education ministry and the Jin-Wen Group were also summoned for questioning yesterday. Prosecutors were still questioning suspects and witnesses last night and have not yet decided whether to ask the court to detain any suspect.
Prosecutors were looking into whether Yung and other former education officials had inappro-priately approved development plans for the Jin-Wen Institute of Technology.
Jin-Wen was founded as a poly-technic school in 1986, the year Yung became the director of the ministry's vocational education division, the department that oversees polytechnic schools.
The Jin-Wen polytechnic school's curriculum and student body increased in the following years and it upgraded to become an institute of technology in 1998.
However, investigators suspect that the school did not meet certain requirements during its expansion and upgrade but still passed the ministry's review.
Prosecutors found it suspicious that Yung and Lin, among other education officials, owned houses in the villa community of Ta Hsueh Shih Hsiang (大學詩鄉) built by the Jin-Wen Group. They suspect the houses served as bribes by the former head of the Jin-Wen Group, Chang Wan-li (張萬利).
Yung reportedly bought the house in 1997, when he was vice education minister. But he said it was a normal purchase and that he has done nothing unlawful.
The villa community in question was also built on land which the Jin-Wen Institute had originally applied to use for a campus expansion, according to prosecutors. They are concerned about the process by which zoning for the 12-hectare site changed from farming use, to cultural and educational use and finally to residential use.
Prosecutors have been investigating whether several government departments collaborated with the Jin-Wen group to allow the illegal construction of the villas.
Prosecutors are also investigating whether the ministry granted excessive subsidies to the technology institute.
Last Friday, the Taipei District Court ordered a former principal of the Jin-Wen Institute of Technology, Lin Tsung-sung (
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS