Former Chiayi County Council Speaker Hsiao Teng-piao (
However, both the defendant's family and the prosecutor were dissatisfied with the court decision.
Hsiao himself did not appear to hear the court decision yesterday, but his niece, Hsiao Yan-yu (
The prosecutor is thinking of appealing against the acquittal -- especially on the counts of blackmail and illegal confinement. The grassroots political heavyweight became a wanted suspect on these charges in December 1996 following the Chihping anti-gangster program (
After more than two years on the run, Hsiao finally turned himself in to the Chiayi Prosecutors' Office last September, claiming that he was a victim of a political ploy conspired by former Minister of Justice Liao Cheng-hao (
The prosecution originally brought six charges against Hsiao after over three months of investigation, during which testimony from more than 150 witnesses was recorded.
The six charges included blackmail, illegal confinement, three counts of using his position to secure loans exceeding his credit limit from farmer's associations, and using bribery to influence the outcome of an election of managers to a farmer's association.
In the district court decision yesterday, Hsiao was sentenced to two years and four months in prison for one of the loans he took from a farmer's association in Chiayi County and for his interference in elections for another farmer's association.
Moreover, the court again overruled Hsiao's request for bail yesterday on the same grounds as in its previous rulings -- that the defendant had absconded before.
Lin Kuen-chih (
Hsiao Yan-yu said their family was very upset with the court's decision not to grant Hsiao bail, and she suggested supporters of the former council speaker might carry out protests following the decision yesterday.
"While those who have been sentenced to life [in prison] are granted bail, how come my uncle, who was only sentenced to two years and four months, still has to be detained?" Hsiao Yan-yu said.
"Many of my uncle's supporters had wanted to stage protests against the court, and we tried to calm them down and told them to wait until the court rendered its verdict. But if they want to take any action now, we won't try to stop them."
Hsiao, who served as a Chiayi County councilor and then as speaker, was the first scalp taken during the Chihping crackdown.
But despite having an arrest warrant out on him, Hsiao managed to evade capture using immunity laws which prevent elected councilors from being arrested as long as their assemblies are in session.
Hsiao made frequent public appearances after he was targeted as a suspect in the crackdown and strongly denied the charges made against him.
Then, in February 1998, on the eve of the vote for speakership of the Chiayi County Council, Hsiao abruptly announced he was withdrawing his candidacy. He has not been seen in public since.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS