Hsinchu Baseball Field Case: Lin Chih-chien Acquitted; Tseng Han-yang Cites Political Operation and Lies

The Hsinchu Municipal Baseball Field case has concluded with former Mayor Lin Chih-chien receiving an acquittal, a decision that city council candidate Tseng Han-yang has leveraged to criticize current Mayor Kao Hung-an. Tseng alleges that Kao engaged in extensive political operations, using propaganda and press conferences to unjustly tarnish significant public construction projects initiated during Lin's tenure, including the baseball field and a municipal children's hospital.

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The lies of political operations ultimately cannot withstand judicial and court scrutiny.

Tseng asserted that the accusations against these projects, particularly the alleged plot to inflate the children's hospital's floor area ratio for illicit gain, have been thoroughly investigated and found to be baseless. The Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office reportedly found no illegal activity, confirming the project's legality and its benefit to regional pediatric healthcare. Similarly, the baseball field case, which underwent a rigorous four-year investigation involving scrutiny of financial flows, accounts, and communications, resulted in acquittals for Lin and associated public officials.

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The 'big secret treasure' mentioned by politicians in the past few years was a complete political witch hunt.

This judicial outcome, Tseng contends, exposes the "witch hunt" orchestrated by politicians against Lin. He further referenced a ruling by the Taoyuan District Court that criticized Kao's administration for allegedly mishandling the baseball field's renovation. According to Tseng, Kao's administration failed to properly conduct acceptance inspections before excavation, obstructed the inspection process, and refused cooperation with judicial鑑定. He characterized the high-profile hiring of American turf experts and subsequent excavation as an expensive public relations stunt.

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Mayor Kao Hung-an, in order to gain political benefits, did not hesitate to completely smear the major public construction projects of Hsinchu City in the past few years.

Tseng blamed Kao's administration's "administrative incompetence and malicious delays" for the indefinite closure and repeated excavation of the baseball field. This, he argued, led to endless repairs, budget overruns, and damage to the city's image, all stemming from political infighting. The acquittal of Lin Chih-chien and the critique of Kao's handling of the baseball field project suggest a significant political fallout in Hsinchu.

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The court certified that Kao Hung-an's city government, in handling the stadium in the past, blindly excavated without proper acceptance procedures, and even 'obstructed acceptance, damaged the site, and refused to cooperate with judicial鑑定 initiated by the court'.