The DPP yesterday recommended revoking the party membership of Legislator Lin Chin-hsing (
Lin is among the 40 politicians -- 34 of whom are Kaohsiung City councilors -- who were charged on Monday in a scandal that has rocked the nation.
The party's Central Executive Committee yesterday reached an agreement to expel Lin. But the decision won't be finalized until the end of the month at the party's Central Review Committee.
Lin was indicted as an accomplice because he and his ex-wife, City Councilor Chang Wen-hsiu (章玟琇), had accepted a NT$5 million bribe from Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Chu An-hsiung (
Prosecutors want Lin to serve one year in prison.
The legislator claimed he was innocent on Monday. He told party officials that although he had accompanied his ex-wife to meet with Wang, he "was not involved in the transaction."
Lin said earlier yesterday that he may consider withdrawing from the party on his own accord.
After the party's meeting yesterday, officials endorsed the prosecutors' indictment on the grounds the decision would issue a warning and curb the corruption in elections.
While asserting the party's position against vote-buying and black gold politics, DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Chin-yung (
The city council kicked off as scheduled on April 1, despite the fact that 34 out of the 44 city councilors were involved in the scandal and in the face of a racous protest outside the chamber from citizens who wanted the accused councilors to step down.
The most effective way to drive these officials out of office is to revise the Law on Local Government Systems (
The DPP yesterday called for cross-party cooperation to push for the amendment of the laws, while urging the KMT to stop hindering the amendment with technical measures.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
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Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail