Suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) is to return to her post tomorrow, the Hsinchu City Government said today, after the High Court found her not guilty of embezzling assistant fees.
The city government at 4pm today confirmed that it had received a letter of reinstatement from the Ministry of the Interior.
Kao also told reporters that she had received the notice, and would report to work at Hsinchu City Hall tomorrow morning.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
The city government yesterday applied to the ministry for Kao’s reinstatement shortly after the High Court acquitted the mayor of corruption charges.
Her sentence was reduced to six months in prison commutable to a fine, down from seven years and four months issued in the first ruling by the Taipei District Court.
While acquitted of the corruption charge, she was still found guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to appeal.
Prosecutors alleged that Kao inflated assistant salaries and overtime pay claims, obtaining NT$116,514 in illicit gains while serving as a legislator for the Taiwan People’s Party from Feb. 1, 2020, to Dec. 25, 2022.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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