Taiwan’s former vice-premier detained while being probed for corruption
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A court said Cheng Wen-tsan must be held because of the risk of collusion with other people involved in the case.
PHOTO: WENTSANCHENG/INSTAGRAM\
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TAIPEI – A court in Taiwan ordered a former vice-premier detained while he is investigated for corruption, the latest development in the highest-profile graft probe in the democratically run archipelago since the one involving former president Chen Shui-bian in 2008.
Cheng Wen-tsan, who was vice-premier in the Tsai Ing-wen administration from January 2023 to May 2024, must be held because of the risk of collusion with other people involved in the case, a court said in a statement on July 11.
He is also a flight risk given that the charges against him are felonies, said the court in Taoyuan, near the capital Taipei.
Prosecutors have accused Cheng of “taking bribes using his position in the government”,
He was earlier granted bail twice, but both times prosecutors appealed.
Cheng is a senior figure in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and has been viewed by some as a potential presidential contender.
On July 7, he resigned as head of the Straits Exchange Foundation, which facilitates civil links between Taiwan and China.
He served as mayor of the northern city of Taoyuan from late 2014 to 2022.
Cheng’s case is unrelated to investigations in the legislature that the opposition parties have kicked off.
Earlier in 2024, the Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party pushed through changes to the law that give lawmakers greater power to probe government officials and others.
Mr Chen was president of Taiwan from 2000 to 2008. He was charged with corruption when his second term ended, later handed a prison sentence of 20 years and then given a release on medical grounds in 2015. BLOOMBERG
