The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday asked the Taipei District Court to extend the detention of Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Core Pacific Group (威京集團) chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) amid an investigation of the Core Pacific City development project.
Sheen and Ying are accused of contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) by illegally lobbying the Taipei City Government to increase the floor area ratio of the Core Pacific City project to raise its value.
The office cited several reasons for extending Ying’s detention, including statements she made contradicting those of alleged accomplices and other witnesses, prosecutors’ pursuit of ongoing investigations of possible accomplices regarding Core Pacific Group’s political donations and having sufficient evidence to show that Ying has corroborated with others.
Photo: CNA
If Ying was allowed to post bail, her connections with people relevant to the case would complicate the investigation, it said.
Sheen still has considerable influence over employees in the group who might be connected to the case, it said, adding that the probe has found that Sheen is in a position to collude with others or try to prevent evidence from being released.
Meanwhile, prosecutors said that Ying’s assistant Wu Shun-min (吳順民) had made clear his involvement during his detention, and while there was cause to continue to hold him, the office considered it unnecessary and has filed to release him.
Seven defendants are detained in the Core Pacific case, including former Taipei mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲), former Dingyue Development Corp (鼎越開發) president Chu Yea-hu (朱亞虎) and Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗), chief financial officer of the TPP’s presidential campaign.
Hsu Chih-yu (許芷瑜), a former secretary of Ko, was yesterday listed as a suspect in the corruption probe.
Prosecutors said there was sufficient evidence to list Hsu as a defendant.
Hsu, who also goes by “Orange” (橘子), was Ko’s personal secretary during his second term as mayor from 2018 to 2022.
Taipei city councilors have alleged that she kept track of campaign donations and accompanied Ko to nearly all of his meetings.
Hsu is in Japan.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS