Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) yesterday accused Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice presidential candidate Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) of breaking the law.
Showing photographs of two detached mansions in a vacant lot, Chiu accused Su of violating rules governing the use of farmland which stipulate that the percentage of a plot of agricultural land used for houses should not exceed 10 percent.
Chiu made the allegations during a question-and-answer session at the legislature.
According to Chiu, construction permits for the two mansions located in the Changchih Township (長治), Pingtung County, where Su Jia-chyuan’s family and that of his sister-in-law live, were awarded in 2003 when Su Jia-chyuan was county commissioner.
By using the farmland to build the mansions Su had violated the “Regulations Governing Agricultural Dwelling Houses” (農業用地興建農舍辦法), established to ensure that farmland is used for agricultural purposes, Chiu said.
Although the issuance of such permits was within the sphere of local governments’ statutory authority, it was a violation of conflict-of-interest rules that Pingtung County Government approved the projects, Chiu added.
Chiu asked Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and the Executive Yuan to look into possible negligence on the part of Pingtung County Commissioner Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻), who Chiu claimed said in 2007 that the local government would raze the mansions, but had so far failed to do so.
Chiu also accused Su Chia-fu (蘇嘉富), Su Jia-chyuan’s older brother, of involvement in the illegally mined sand and gravel businesses, citing a statement made by the older Su in a case he brought against Chiu in 2008, a case in which prosecutors decided not to indict Chiu.
In the statement Su Chia-fu told prosecutors that he sometimes played the role of intermediary between buyers and the sand and gravel mining industry and that police turned a blind eye to truck drivers suspected of transporting illegally mined sand and gravel when they learned that they were working with Su Chia-fu when Su Jia-chyuan was commissioner, Chiu said.
Chiu also alleged that Su Jia-chyuan’s wife, Hung Heng-chu (洪恆珠), a public servant, accompanied him on electioneering on Tuesday during working hours.
In response, DPP campaign office spokesperson Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) said the allegations were all untrue.
“The integrity of Su Jia-chyuan has been tried and tested in many elections. The DPP will not dance to Chiu’s tune,” Hsu said, adding that Su Jia-chyuan had obtained legitimate permits to build his house and Hung had taken a day off on Tuesday.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal