Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang (
The Chinese-language Next magazine carried a story in yesterday's edition linking the suicide of a local film director's brother to Su's tolerance of the underground parlors.
The weekly magazine claimed that Lien Pi-tung (
The magazine claims Lien was obsessed with playing video games that carried heavy stakes.
"The story is an utter lie. I hate gambling more than anyone and have unremittingly cracked down on illegal gambling parlors in the county," Su told a news conference. He called the accusation a smear campaign intended to undermine his re-election bid.
The commissioner said that since 1998 he has declared war on the county's illegal gambling parlors, disgusted at the industry that has led many young people astray.
"As a result of a fierce crackdown, the number of video arcades in the county has plummeted from 581 to 34 in recent years," Su said, adding that all the existing facilities are properly licensed.
He said he would reserve the right to sue Next but would not take quick legal action in order to avoid promoting the magazine's sales.
Su urged county residents not to believe the story, which he maintained was part of a scheme to ruin his election campaign.
"A similar plot cost me the commissioner's seat in Pingtung County eight years ago," Su said. "We must not allow a repeat of injustice here in December."
Still, his challenger, Wang Chien-shien (王建火宣) of the opposition alliance, called on Su to admit to his ineptitude and issue an apology.
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely," said a statement released by the Wang campaign. "The DPP, after running the county for 12 years, has developed intimate ties with various interest groups."
The commissioner has hesitated to shut down all illegal gambling parlors in an effort to please potential voters, the statement said, equating Su's explanation with encroaching on freedom of the press.
"Most publications would not have run their story before checking their accuracy," the statement said.
The Wang camp challenged Su to produce concrete evidence to back up his charge and suggested a candidate from a different party be given the chance to run the county to straighten out the illegal gambling and other problems.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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