Tainan's "Black Gold" Corruption Erupts: Kuo Tsai-chin's Slag Case Unveils DPP's Long-term Political Shadows

On December 14, 2022, Kuo Tsai-chin, a former member of the DPP’s Central Executive Committee, was indicted for allegedly illegal slag burial in Tainan, yielding illicit profits of up to NT$2.1 billion. This case triggered a chain reaction, including the shocking "88 Gunshots" incident, solar power development scandals, and the Tainan City Council Speaker election bribery case, completely detonating the "black-gold" political bomb under the DPP's long-term rule in Tainan. These series of events revealed how local DPP elites colluded deeply with organized crime and illegal interest groups, turning local infrastructure, environmental protection, and energy transition (solar power) into tools for spoils-sharing. The black-gold system in Tainan unveiled the ugly truth of extreme power corruption and the integration of government and underworld after years of green rule in the south.