In Taiwan, prosecutors are investigating a case involving a high-ranking official and a member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for alleged bribery with China, Reuters reported.
The official Central News Agency (CNA) said the mug court will hold a hearing Saturday afternoon to decide on prosecutors’ request to detain Cheng Wen-tsan. He is the head of the Straits Exchange Foundation under the Mainland China Affairs Council, which handles day-to-day issues such as accidents involving Taiwanese in China. However, the foundation is private because the governments of Beijing and Taipei do not recognize each other and have no official relationship.
Domestic prosecutors have suspected Cheng of taking bribes, but his lawyer said the politician has not broken any laws and will cooperate with all investigations as he wants to prove his innocence. Cheng said:
I have not committed any illegal acts, and I will cooperate with the judicial investigation. I hope to clarify the truth and prove my innocence as soon as possible.
The court on Saturday set bail at NT$5 million (US$153,980) and barred him from leaving the island after prosecutors asked the district court to detain Cheng. Democratic Progressive Party spokesman Wu Cheng confirmed the investigation in a statement on Saturday, without going into details of the allegations.
Cheng became vice premier in January 2023 under former President Tsai Ing-wen. He ended his term when Tsai handed over the reins to incumbent President Lai Ching-te earlier this year after the DPP won the presidential election again. He is currently head of the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation, which provides administrative support for civil exchanges between Taiwan and China. Cheng also served as mayor of Taoyuan City in northern Taiwan from late 2014 to 2022.
Taiwan’s presidential administration said it hoped investigators would clarify the matter as soon as possible.
