Chen Huizhi, the female manager of Shin Kong Zhaofeng Leisure Farm, went to Hong Kong to participate in a travel fair with the Hualien County Government and Legislator Fu Kunqi on February 18 last year. When she entered the country, she was arrested by the Hong Kong police and charged with money laundering. It is understood that Ms. Chen was judicially accused of money laundering, which increased from approximately US$15,000 to US$556,000 and 45,000 euros (equivalent to nearly NT$20 million). In August last year, the Hong Kong Department of Justice prosecuted the case and sent it to the Hong Kong District Court for trial. She is still in custody in Hong Kong.
A 55-year-old woman surnamed Chen went to Hong Kong to attend a travel fair with Hualien County Government and Legislator Fu Kunqi in February last year. As soon as she entered the country, she was arrested and taken away by the Hong Kong police without even picking up her luggage. She was initially accused by the Hong Kong police of Chen being involved in a $15,000 transaction in December 2019. (approximately NT$500,000) money laundering case, and was detained by the court; but in August last year, Hong Kong prosecutors accused Chen of assisting others to handle a sum of nearly NT$20 million between the end of 2019 and January 2020, thereby benefiting others.
Because the woman surnamed Chen was accused by the Hong Kong prosecutor, she was suspected of being involved in the case from the end of 2019 to 2020. However, Ms. Chen has successfully entered and exited China and Hong Kong several times in the past, and she has left photos of her travels on Facebook. She only went to China for exchanges in 2024, but it was fine. Last year, an incident occurred with a group led by the county government and legislator Fu Kunqi, leaving relatives and friends puzzled as to how they were arrested. They believed that Chen had a simple background and had worked at Xinguang Zhaofeng Farm in Hualien for about 20 years, so she would not be involved in money laundering. The county tourism office also assisted in finding a lawyer last year.
It is understood that Ms. Chen was charged by the Hong Kong prosecutor with a crime commonly known as "money laundering", that is, "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds from indictable crimes." It was believed that the defendant Ms. Chen knew or had reasonable grounds to believe that a sum of money deposited in the Bank of China in Hong Kong represented, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the proceeds of any person from an indictable crime, but still handled the property. The prosecutors suspected that she provided an account to help the fraud group launder money.
After Ms. Chen was arrested by the Hong Kong police in February last year, it is understood that she was arraigned and released on bail for the second time in April, but was not approved by the Hong Kong court. At the end of May last year, the court ruled for the third arraignment to postpone the detention until August 8 of the same year. In August last year, Ms. Chen was charged with new charges involving an increase in the amount of money and a heavier sentence. The Hong Kong Magistrates' Court transferred her to the District Court for trial, and the decision was made to continue to postpone the detention until November. In February and May of this year, the court ruled that she should continue to be detained until now.
The Magistrates’ Court of Hong Kong is a grassroots court and a court of first instance. It mainly handles minor criminal cases, some civil procedures and preliminary hearings. The District Court is an intermediate court that mainly hears more serious cases that do not reach the level of the High Court. The case of the woman surnamed Chen is currently being heard by the Hong Kong District Court.
The Hualien County Government was invited to participate in the Hong Kong Tourism Expo in February last year and led more than 40 people including Hualien's local tourism industry. Fu Kunqi, the general convener of the Chinese Kuomintang Legislative Yuan Caucus, was supposed to participate in the negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties on the central government's general budget, but Fu Kunqi claimed to be ill and was absent from the negotiations. A photo of Fu Kunqi holding dumbbells was revealed to have appeared in Hong Kong. When Fu gave a speech in Hong Kong, he publicly stated that he "represents the central government of Taiwan," causing political controversy. Fu Kunqi later said that he went to Hong Kong at his own expense to promote Hualien tourism, and did not know the employee named Chen, and criticized the Democratic Progressive Party government for suppressing it.
