Yunlin County Council Speaker Shen Tsung-lung (沈宗隆) resigned yesterday amid an ongoing corruption investigation into NT$26 million (US$806,977) in alleged bribes involving wind farm projects.
A member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Shen headed up a list of five people indicted in late July on corruption charges for allegedly taking bribes from Wpd Taiwan Energy Co in exchange for helping the company obtain licenses to start construction of 640 megawatt wind power facilities along the coast of Yunlin County.
“Please forgive for any shortcomings in the past, when I held the speaker’s office,” he said in his resignation speech. “I am leaving this office, but I will retain my position as a county councilor. We shall still work together here at this council hall. Let us continue to oversee government programs, and push for the construction of local infrastructure projects and industrial parks.”
Photo: CNA
Shen first announced his resignation for “personal reasons” when addressing a council meeting yesterday morning, then afterward told reporters he was stepping down “to reduce public speculation” about the bribery case.
An election for a new speaker is to be held within a month, chosen from the current sitting councilors, the Yunlin County Council said.
To be elected speaker, a candidate must secure the support of more than half of councilors who vote and a minimum of 50 percent of councilors must vote for the result to be valid.
After wrapping up their investigation in July, Yunlin County prosecutors indicted Shen and the other suspects on bribery charges.
They alleged that illicit money passed hands when the project started in 2019, with Shen allegedly demanding bribes from Wpd Taiwan Energy, a subsidiary of Wpd GmbH, a wind farm and solar energy developer based in Bremen, Germany.
Also indicted on bribery charges in the case were Yunlin County Councilor Wang Yu-min (王又民), two executives of Wpd Taiwan Energy, and Chung Ching-lang (鍾慶郎), who prosecutors suspect acted as a middleman.
A court filing said that Wpd cooperated with local businesses in a consortium to build an offshore wind farm, but was met by opposition from local residents, community leaders and some Yunlin County councilors, who held protests and vowed to block the project.
The protests led to the Yunlin County Government rescinding its support for the wind farm project.
Wpd Taiwan Energy said at the time in 2020 that it had difficulty applying for construction permits and operating licenses, putting the project way behind schedule, the filing said.
Company executives allegedly contacted Shen and Wang Yu-min to exercise their political authority to monitor progress and apply pressure on government officials to expedite the approval process and grant the permits needed to start construction, the filing said.
Following the indictment, public prosecutors said that Shen and Chung had admitted to playing a role in the alleged bribery and had handed over all the illegally obtained money.
Wpd Taiwan Energy has been rebranded as Skyborn Renewable Taiwan Co (天豐新能源) in Taiwan as the project operator after the company was taken over by Global Infrastructure Partners, a global infrastructure investor.
The company has said it is cooperating with the authorities on an investigation into alleged bribery concerning the offshore wind project off Yunlin.
Additional reporting by CNA
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese