Fraud might be involved in a decision to allow a property developer associated with the family of Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate in a by-election in Taichung tomorrow, to pass an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a project near Taichung International Airport, New Power Party (NPP) lawmakers said on Tuesday.
The lawmakers called for an investigation into whether Chuang Li Development Co is part of the Yen family’s business empire. Yen’s brother Yen Chia-yi (顏嘉儀) is a board member.
The project site is in a “military control zone,” NPP Chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said.
“The EIA process was flawed,” Chen said. “The project infringes on Taiwan’s national security, so it must be assessed and approved by the Ministry of National Defense.”
NPP and Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers have previously said that the No. 105 Wharf project at Taichung Harbor “was won by Chengfeng Warehouse and Harbor Service Co, which is among the Yen family’s business interests, with the firm co-owned by Yen Kuan-heng’s brothers and Chang Ching-tang (張清堂), a KMT member and former Taichung County Council speaker.
Chengfeng obtained the contract by pressing government officials when Yen Kuan-heng was a lawmaker from 2013 to 2016 and with his sister Yen Li-min (顏莉敏) as deputy speaker of the Taichung City Council, the lawmakers said.
Documents showed that Chengfeng secured a 20-year lease to operate the warehouse at the wharf site, with the Yen family gaining revenue of more than NT$10 billion (US$361.14 million), they said, citing data on coal supply — which uses the port — for the Taichung Power Plant.
“The airport is used by the air force, with F-16V jets conducting training runs from it, so Taiwan’s national security might be compromised by the Yen project,” financial expert Jimmy Wang (汪潔民) said on Tuesday.
“Moreover, the No. 15 Wharf project is of concern, because Taichung Port is central Taiwan’s most important harbor,” he added.
The lawmakers cited a paper published last year by US military analyst Ian Easton that said China would likely target Taichung Port for an initial landing site in a potential invasion because of its facilities, proximity to China and the logistical challenges it poses to defenders.
China would prepare to access port facilities and equipment through investment projects, as it has done in foreign countries, assisting its war efforts if hostilities break out, Easton said.
The project near the airport is a national security concern , as Yen Kuan-heng’s father, Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), has good relations with top Chinese officials, while his family owns land near the port and the airport, among other business interests, the lawmakers said.
In response to the allegations, Yen Kuan-heng said that “the business projects were obtained according to the proper procedures, and we have complied with the law in all these cases.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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