Prosecutors today said they are investigating Chinese Nationalist Party Legislator Cheng Cheng-chien (鄭正鈐), following allegations that he received campaign funds from Beijing and leaked government information.
Carol Lin (林志潔), spokesperson for the recall campaigns against Cheng and suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安), on Wednesday filed a complaint saying that a whistle-blower, who claimed to be Cheng’s former assistant, alleged that Cheng had accepted funding from the Chinese Communist Party.
Cheng had also allegedly instructed his assistant to use his phone to reply to messages from China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) and send government files to the TAO using WeChat, a Chinese messaging platform, the complaint said.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
Lin also accused Cheng of receiving bribes from contractors by asking them to pay his assistant’s salaries, prosecutors said.
In addition, Cheng allegedly inflated his assistant’s salaries and failed to provide them with labor and health insurance as required by law, Lin’s complaint said.
Cheng was also accused of unauthorized personal use of government vehicles and asking police escorts to drive him to election campaigns and anti-recall campaigns.
The High Prosecutors’ Office today said the case would be handled by a team of investigators specializing in “major cases endangering national security and social order.”
The Taipei Prosecutors’ Office said it would investigate whether Cheng contravened the Political Donations Act (政治獻金法), National Security Act (國家安全法) and Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
Cheng has denied receiving Chinese funds and leaking confidential information involving national security to the TAO.
Asked if he had given any information to the TAO, he said the office might have asked for some calligraphy to “pray for blessings,” which he sent.
Asked whether his election campaign materials were provided by China, Cheng said they were made in China, but were procured by Taiwanese companies.
He said he would pursue legal action in light of "repeated false accusations," dismissing the allegations made by the recall campaign group as “smearing.”
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS