A Lienchiang County councilor was detained yesterday over alleged vote-buying ahead of the Lienchiang County Council speakership election today.
Lin Ching-tsung (林慶宗), chief prosecutor at the Lienchiang Prosecutors’ Office in Matsu, said Hsieh Cheng-chun (謝承春), an independent, was suspected of involvement in vote-buying. Lienchiang judges requested his detention yesterday.
Hsieh, a re-elected independent councilor, will be barred from exercising his functions as councilor for the duration of the investigation and won’t be allow to vote in today’s election.
Lin said other councilors were being investigated.
Lienchiang prosecutors led agents from the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau on Monday to search 10 locations in Matsu and found NT$5 million (US$156,000) in cash at a construction company owned by Chang Ching-chiu (張金秋). The Lienchiang District Court called for Chang to be detained on Tuesday.
Lin said prosecutors suspected Chang was asked by a county councilor to use the money to bribe another councilor, but the latter did not receive the money.
There are nine councilors in the county council. A councilor can be elected as speaker if he or she garners five votes. Local media said four of the nine were interested in the speaker position.
Meanwhile, gangsters may have been involved in the Yunlin County Council and Chiayi City speakership elections. Yunlin County commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) of the Democratic Progressive Party said councilors in her county have complained of being threatened by gangsters ahead of the speakership election, and she had to order police officers to protect all 43 councilors.
Two of them have 24 hour protection, she said.
Chiayi City Council has 24 councilors.
Police said some councilors had complained of being threatened by gangsters; 19 had police escorts until today’s election.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
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SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
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