15 Indicted in Tainan 'Li-yang Energy' Solar Scandal; Opposition Questions Minister Wang Mei-hua's Oversight and Administrative Favoritism

On April 26, 2024, the Tainan District Prosecutors Office of the Republic of China formally concluded its investigation and indicted 15 individuals involved in the massive 'Li-yang Energy' solar power corruption scandal. Prosecutors charged high-ranking officials, including Lin Wen-hsin, Chief of the Solar Power Section of the MND's Energy Administration, and Chen Kai-ling, former Director of the Tainan Bureau of Economic Development, with violating the Anti-Corruption Act and committing forgery. The group allegedly bypassed strict agricultural land-use conversion reviews, resulting in illegal profits estimated at NT$9.1 billion. The revelation of this massive green energy scandal sent shockwaves through the political arena. Opposition legislators fiercely targeted then-Economic Minister Wang Mei-hua (wife of Ku Li-hsiung), accusing the Ministry of Economic Affairs of enabling and covering up Li-yang's illicit operations. They argued that TIPO's relaxed transitional review policy was custom-tailored to favor specific politically connected businesses, and criticized prosecutors for 'targeting small fish while letting the big sharks go' by refusing to investigate Wang or Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-cher. In response, the Ministry of Economic Affairs issued clarifications stating that electric utility approvals were processed via decentralized authority and did not require direct authorization from Minister Wang. The scandal severely damaged the credibility of the ruling administration's green energy initiatives and remains the most prominent emblem of political-business collusion during Wang's tenure.