Yilan County Commissioner Lin Zi-miao (林姿妙) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that she believes in the impartiality of the justice system, a day after being identified as a suspect in a corruption investigation.
“I have the support from Yilan residents, and we are all working hard,” she told reporters at an agriculture fair in the county’s Sansing Township (三星), after she was asked how the probe was affecting her. “I believe the justice system is impartial, so we will continue to do our jobs.”
The Yilan District Prosecutors’ Office on Thursday listed Lin among a group of officials being investigated about urban renewal and property development projects in the county that have been linked to financial irregularities and suspected illegal activities.
Photo: Tsai Yun-jung, Taipei Times
Lin and Luodong Township (羅東) Mayor Wu Chiu-ling (吳秋齡) were released on Friday after questioning, following searches and after receiving summonses the day before, while two county government officials were detained and others were released on bail.
Yilan County Councilor Chen Chun-yu (陳俊宇), convener of the council’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus, said that the investigation was the largest in the county’s history, with investigators searching more than 30 locations, including county government offices and private residences.
“Yilan County residents feel shame over what has taken place,” he said. “It seems that it is not just a simple case, so we ask the commissioner to explain the allegations.”
People want to know what has gone on under the three years of Lin’s administration, he said.
Yilan County Councilor Lin Li (林麗) of the DPP said that many residents have lost their trust in the commissioner.
DPP spokesman Chou Chiang-chieh (周江杰) said that as the party respects the judicial system’s independence, it would not comment on the case.
“However, KMT officials have falsely accused the DPP of political persecution. This shows that KMT officials are the ones using politics to interfere in the justice system,” he said.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said that the DPP was “going after” elected representatives of the KMT.
After attacking the family of KMT Taichung by-election candidate Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) during a campaign that ended with his defeat on Sunday last week, “we now see they have targeted those in eastern Taiwan,” Chu said.
“The KMT respects the justice system, which cannot be used for political persecution,” he said.
KMT members “will rally together as one, and we will gather up the strongest legal defense team to fight this case,” he added.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
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