Taiwan exec with China dealings faces bribery probe

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te | TAIWAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE / AFP

TAIPEI—Taiwan prosecutors said on Saturday they were investigating a senior official and member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who deals with China on suspicion of bribery. He said he had done nothing wrong.

Cheng Wen-tsan is head of the Straits Exchange Foundation under the China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council that deals with day-to-day issues like accidents involving Taiwanese in China. The foundation is technically private because the governments in Beijing and Taipei do not recognise each other or have any official relations.

Prosecutors in the northern Taiwanese city of Taoyuan, where Cheng was mayor from 2014-2022, said he had been summoned for questioning on Friday on bribery suspicions and that they had applied to a court to detain him. It did not give details of the allegations against him.

Cheng, in a statement issued via his lawyer and released by the foundation, denied wrongdoing. “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,” he said.

—REUTERS

African leaders urge UN: Prioritize tree planting drive

BRAZZAVILLE—Six African leaders called on Friday for the United Nations to prioritize a decade of planting trees to combat climate change, according to a declaration released at the end of a summit in the Republic of Congo.

The declaration said the leaders had urged “the adoption of a resolution by the 79th General Assembly of the United Nations to officially endorse” the plan ahead of the annual gathering in New York in September.

Congo’s capital Brazzaville hosted days of talks this week that brought together experts, representatives of indigenous populations and technical and financial partners. Six leaders attended the summit, which is part of an “African and global decade of afforestation and reforestation” launched by Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso at COP27 in Egypt in 2023.

Sassou Nguesso was joined by his counterparts including, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau, Faustin Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic, Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon and Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia.

—AFP

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