Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄) yesterday said that he will retire from politics when he finishes his term in 2007 and concentrate on business to help bring about a change in Taiwan's economic slowdown.
"A lot of people asked me if I would resign because of my involvement in the bribery case. However, I say, to resign my post will not solve any problem," Chu said. "It is time for me to face any problems instead of avoiding them."
Chu is planning to return to the city council chambers for regular meetings beginning tomorrow.
On Dec. 29 last year, a request by Kaohsiung prosecutors for Chu's detention on a charge of bribery was granted by the Kaohsiung District Court and he was detained at the Kaohsiung Detention House since then. On Thursday night, he was released on bail of NT$5 million for being cooperative throughout both the investigation and court hearings. Judges also ruled that there was no possibility that Chu would go on the run.
His position as council speaker was temporarily suspended and the city council was chaired by independent councilor Tseng Chang-fa (曾長發) during his detention. Chu automatically resumed his position upon his release.
Meanwhile, detained vice speaker Tsai Sung-hsiung's (蔡松雄) defense counsel Wu Hsien-ming (吳賢明) said that he will keep applying for Tsai's release during bail hearings next week.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
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Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
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