Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) yesterday apologized over alleged illegal data access by a former Civil Affairs Department director amid recall campaigns targeting local councilors from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Hsieh, a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), bowed deeply to DPP City Councilor Cheng Wen-ting (鄭文婷) during a city council meeting, and also apologized to the council and Keelung residents for the alleged abuse of power by Chang Yuan-hsiang (張淵翔) under his leadership.
The bow might seem belated, Hsieh said, adding that he had been “surprised and saddened” to learn of Chang’s alleged actions and was waiting for the results of an investigation to determine whether other officials were involved.
Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times
Last month, prosecutors were investigating alleged forgery in recall campaigns across the country after the Central Election Commission found petitions bearing the names of deceased people.
The campaigns included petitions targeting DPP Keelung councilors Cheng and Jiho Tiun (張之豪).
Under recall law, campaigners must submit petitions signed by constituents of the target’s district to initiate a recall.
Following a review of material collected in raids and questioning, Keelung prosecutors said they suspected that Chang had illegally accessed household registration data to help revise and verify a KMT membership list in the city.
Prosecutors on April 29 sought approval to detain him incommunicado from the district court, which on May 6 approved the request.
Prosecutors said that Chang had told them he had accessed the system.
He has resigned from his post.
Meanwhile, two officials at Keelung’s Jhongjheng Household Registration Office were questioned and released on bail for allegedly contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
Hsieh said that the two officials were also expected to resign.
Cheng accepted Hsieh’s apology, calling it “the foundation of a responsible government.”
Local citizens would be glad that Hsieh has finally apologized, she said.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the