Prosecutors have opened an investigation into the sudden shutdown of True Yoga Fitness, after the Singapore-based fitness chain ceased operations last month.
The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office today confirmed that it received a criminal complaint from consumers days after True Yoga abruptly suspended operations at six outlets in Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan on Sept. 23.
Photo: CNA
The company later announced on Sept. 30 that it would cease all operations from Oct. 1 and begin bankruptcy and liquidation proceedings, citing heavy losses from the COVID-19 pandemic and a weak economy.
Today, a civic group alleged that the collapse may be linked to Chinese state-owned capital infiltrating Taiwanese businesses through complex legal and financial arrangements.
The Taiwan Economic Democracy Union said it would stage a protest on Monday next week outside True Yoga's Dunnan flagship branch in Taipei, urging prosecutors to conduct a thorough probe into possible fraud, foreign capital manipulation and violations of consumer rights.
At a news conference, union researcher Huang Cheng-han (黃承瀚) claimed that the closure was a "deliberately orchestrated act of capital plunder," not simply business mismanagement.
He said True Yoga's shares are fully owned by True Yoga Holdings Ltd, in which the Hong Kong-listed Huakang Healthcare Holdings Ltd, reportedly tied to Chinese state capital, holds 29 percent — just under the threshold for foreign investment review.
According to the union, True Yoga's chairman allegedly used dual identities to sign exploitative franchise and loan contracts, systematically draining the company's cash flow and potentially committing breach of trust.
Prosecutors said they would take the civic group's concerns into account as the investigation proceeds.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS