S5-E9 – Magistrate Mass Murder and Gangsters in Government
After the “execution-style” murder of Taoyuan Magistrate Liu Pang-yu and half a dozen others at Liu’s official residence in November 1996 by assassins deemed connected to the underworld, Taiwan’s authorities began getting serious about trying to rid its ranks of those with ties to organized crime – but it’s no easy task. A report from that same year found that at least a third of elected officials were part of a system termed “Black Gold,” or put simply: gangsters in government.
Cover via Wiki/Taiwan Panorama.
HIGHLY SUGGESTED READING:
Heijin: Organized Crime, Business, and Politics in Taiwan - by Ko-Lin Chin
WIKI: 黑金 Black gold (politics, Taiwan)
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READ: by Anna Wang and Marlene Chen/tr. by Phil Newell - December 1996
Eight Dead in Killings at Taoyuan County Commissioner's Residence
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Below via Wiki Commons: "Liao Cheng-hao 廖正豪attended the National Taiwan University College of Law and served as deputy director-general of the Government Information Office and Executive Yuan before leading the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau, starting in 1995. Liao was the first MJIB leader without experience in intelligence. During his tenure, MJIB solved several high profile cases, such as corruption on the part of Chou Jen-shen. Liao was elevated to justice minister in 1996 and served until 1998. In his two-year tenure, Liao was well-regarded for confronting organized crime. His opposition to organized crime included refusal to attend the Legislative Yuan's judicial committee meetings while Lo Fu-chu, a lawmaker allegedly associated with gangs, was a committee member. As justice minister, Liao issued an ultimatum for gangs in Taiwan to disband. While Liao led the justice ministry, he pursued former Chiayi County Council speaker Hsiao Teng-piao on a number of charges. Reflecting on the influence of criminals in Taiwanese politics in 2010, Liao stated that these groups gained prominence in the late 1980s, in the waning years of the martial law period, and peaked in the 1990s, when a third of county and municipal councilors had criminal backgrounds."
Below: Liu Pang-yu 劉邦友 (1942-1996) - He served as the Magistrate of Taoyuan County from 1989 until his death in 1996.
Below: A combo of news images from the time.
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