Lin Zhijian not prosecuted in Hsinchu baseball stadium case, Zhuang Jingcheng criticizes Gao Hongan for political manipulation

After nearly four years of investigation into the Hsinchu Baseball Stadium case, Taiwan's High Prosecutor's Office yesterday (2nd) determined that the original decision of not prosecuting was not inappropriate and dismissed it for further review. Former Mayor Lin Zhijian decided not to prosecute. Zhuang Jingcheng, candidate for Hsinchu mayor of the Democratic Progressive Party, pointed out today (3rd) that the non-prosecution letter stated in black and white that the materials buried at the stadium were "not the huge amount of waste alleged by the whistleblower Hsinchu City Government." Gao Hongan's "big secret treasure" that he had been claiming for four years was officially exposed by the judiciary. He asked Gao Hongan to face up to the judicial outcome and apologize to Lin Zhijian, the implicated city government colleagues and all citizens. He also promised that after being elected mayor, he would actively strive to bring professional baseball back to Hsinchu.

Zhuang Jingcheng recalled that after Gao Hongan took office at the end of 2022, the city government excavated the stadium and promoted the "big secret treasure" to the public. In 2023, relevant personnel and data were transferred for inspection and inspection. Since then, the stadium has been shut down for nearly four years. The prosecutors used communications monitoring, searches, cash flow comparisons and accounting analysis to conclude that none of the contract changes violated the Government Procurement Law, and "no evidence of illegal cash flow, bribery or profiteering was found between Lin Zhijian or other city government personnel and the construction and supervision companies." What was really held accountable was the fact that the construction logs and supervision records of four construction and supervision personnel were falsely posted.

Faced with the non-prosecution decision in August this year, the Gaohongan Municipal Government still insisted that "non-prosecution does not mean that the project is qualified" and threatened to reconsider and continue to hold the company accountable. Now the High People's Procuratorate has made a final decision. Zhuang Jingcheng emphasized that it is the duty of the city government to repair defects in projects and seek compensation from manufacturers. But what Gao Hongan has been telling the public over the past four years is not "project defects" but "profit making" and "huge amounts of waste", packaging administrative issues into criminal cases.

Zhuang Jingcheng pointed out that the final bill for political operations is borne by the public. In March this year, the city government and Longlai Company, a company related to Wei Quanlong, reached an agreement to terminate the contract; in May, Vice Mayor Lin Kunhan even bluntly stated that there would be no rush to find a professional baseball team to move in within two or three years after the stadium opens. The stadium only completed the inspection and acceptance of the improvement project in mid-September, but the city government is rushing to plan the opening before the November election. Four years ago, the stadium was used to beat the former mayor, and four years later, the stadium was used to hold pre-election activities. In Gao Hongan's hands, the stadium has always been just a political cash machine.

Zhuang Jingcheng said that Lin Zhijian and his colleagues in the city government waited for 4 years and finally got their innocence, but Hsinchu fans will never get back the 4 years they lost. He promised to return the stadium to the fans in the future and actively strive to return professional baseball to Hsinchu so that Hsinchu people can see professional baseball in their own city.