Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) yesterday denied that her boyfriend meddled in city government affairs, adding that she hoped “justice could be served” as judicial authorities probed the allegations against her.
Kao, a member of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), has for the past couple of weeks been engulfed in a slew of controversies, including allegations that she lives in a NT$50 million-plus (US$1.56 million) apartment and travels around the city in luxury vehicles, such as a Porsche or BMW, courtesy of property developers, raising questions about potential conflict of interests.
On Monday, former Hsinchu City Cultural Affairs Bureau director Chien Kang-ming (錢康明) also accused Kao’s “good friend” of attempting to meddle in the city’s governance.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
This “good friend” is neither Kao’s chief of staff or a member of the city government, and it was wrong for the friend to discuss city administration issues with city officials, Chien wrote on Facebook the day after he left office.
Chien added that on Aug. 28, he was abruptly told by Kao to work only until Sunday.
Although Chien did not name the “good friend,” Lee Chung-ting (李忠庭), Kao’s boyfriend, wrote on Facebook that he had never attempted to interfere in the city’s affairs.
The Agency Against Corruption has instructed the Hsinchu City Department of Government Ethics to launch an investigation into the matter. Kao was questioned by the department on Monday as part of the probe.
Meanwhile, the Hsinchu District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that Democratic Progressive Party Hsinchu City Councilor Chen Chien-ming (陳建名) has filed a complaint accusing Kao of contravening the Anti-corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
The office said it was looking into the matter.
Asked about the luxury apartment, Kao repeated that she lives in a 15-year-old community building, but added that it was Lee who rented the condominium.
As for allegations that Lee sought to interfere in city affairs by talking to Chien about arrangements for the city’s New Year’s Eve party, Kao said she had already issued a statement on Monday saying that Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County would not collaborate in holding such an event this year, so there was no place that allowed room for meddling.
Separately, TPP spokeswoman Yang Bao-zhen (楊寶楨) told a news conference yesterday that the party stands by the Hsinchu City Government’s statement.
She said that any evidence or proof of wrongdoing should be submitted to the government ethics department, the Agency Against Corruption and the district prosecutors’ office.
All allegations will be addressed, but if Kao is innocent, she is owed an apology, she said.
If the allegations are backed up by evidence, “this kind of behavior is not acceptable in government offices,” TPP Legislator Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) said, urging Chien to provide proof to back up his claims.
If Chien could not provide evidence, his comments could be interpreted as an emotional outburst, Lai said.
Chien could have made an effort to fix the issues when he was in office instead of writing about it on social media after he left, Lai added.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
RSS