DPP Central Standing Committee Member Guo Zai-qin Sentenced to 10 Years and 8 Months in Slag Case

On June 29, 2026, the Tainan District Court delivered a first-instance verdict in the Xuejia Furnace Slag Case. Guo Zai-qin (nicknamed "Garlic Head Chin"), a former DPP Central Executive Committee member and treasurer of the Tainan DPP City Branch, was found to have directed his company "Mingxiangxin" to illegally bury over 680,000 metric tons of electric arc furnace slag on farmland, industrial land, and national property in Tainan's Xuejia District under the guise of "legal reuse." Convicted on 7 counts including violations of the Waste Disposal Act, he was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months (non-commutable); with an additional 2 years and 2 months (commutable) for tax evasion and related offenses, bringing the total sentence to 10 years and 8 months. The court also ordered the confiscation of approximately NT$65.16 million in illegal proceeds from Guo and Mingxiangxin. Eight defendants were indicted in total; co-conspirators Wei Ru-yun, Lai Rong-tian, Lin Fu-shun, Wang Tiao-qun, Zhang Zong-jin, Ma Zu-wei and others received sentences ranging from 1 year and 4 months to 6 years. The case has triggered fierce public criticism over the black-gold political networks entrenched during the DPP's long rule in Tainan, with mounting questions over whether former Tainan Mayor and current President Lai Ching-te and current Mayor Huang Wei-che turned a blind eye to — or even shielded — Guo's operations. The case remains open to appeal.