The sometimes blurry line between organized crime and electoral politics, particularly in rural parts of Taiwan, can be observed in the recent sentencing of former DPP county councilor Yan Xumao for amphetamine smuggling. In the first instance, Yan was sentenced to life imprisonment, though he can appeal...
The Yilan country magistrate debate took place on November 19th. Although there were a number of participants, this article will focus on the KMT candidate, incumbent Lin Zi-miao, and the DPP candidate, Chiang Tsung-yuan, who currently serves as mayor of Yilan city. The debate took place in two rounds...
Earlier this month, on November 3rd, President Tsai Ing-wen called for an end to “black gold” politics in an appeal to voters to place their votes for the DPP’s county magistrate candidates in Yilan, Miaoli, and Nantou. This is significant, in that this reflects that the DPP has chosen an angle of attack that will focus on the KMT over issues of corruption...
The KMT continues to be dogged by allegations of corruption in the upcoming midterm elections. While this is nothing new for a party that was referred to as “black gold” during authoritarian times because of links between KMT members, organized crime, and political corruption, what proves of note is to what extent the pan-Green camp has focused political attacks on the KMT over the issue of corruption with a little over a month before the elections are to take place...
Former Nantou county magistrate Lee Chao-ching, a former member of the KMT, pled guilty to 81 crimes in a second-instance trial last week. As a result, Lee now faces 450 years in jail...
Chen Feng-mei, the DPP mayor of Budai township in Chiayi, is currently under investigation for illegal dumping. This proves one of a series of prominent cases involving illegal dumping in Taiwan, or otherwise involving politicians implicated in land issues...
Issues of corruption continue to be endemic in Taiwanese politics. This can be observed in a number of incidents. In many cases, these charges return to embezzlement or fraud related to loans...
Yilan county magistrate Lin Zi-miao has come under further scrutiny for corruption charges, due to checks worth over 100 million NT received by Lin or her family members from former KMT legislator Yang Chi-hsiung...
Lin Zi-miao, the KMT magistrate of Yilan county, was detained by police and questioned for several hours last week as part of a corruption investigation. More than thirty were questioned as part of the investigation, with thirty locations raided by police...
