Taichung prosecutors yesterday said they will order the arrest and possible extradition from the US of former Legislative Yuan speaker Liu Sung-pan (
"Prosecutors have five times informed him to serve his imprisonment, but Liu did not appear. To follow the Criminal Procedure Code, prosecutors will promulgate an order for his arrest this week," said Chang Hung-mo (
"Because Liu has stayed in the US since his trial, prosecutors might ask US authorities to extradite Liu back to Taiwan," Chang added.
Liu's lawyer Lo Feng-yin (
Liu was found guilty last September of accepting NT$150 million (US$4.7 million) in kickbacks from Tseng Cheng-jen (
Taichung prosecutors have five times informed Liu he must serve his prison time: in September last year, January, March, May, and most recently, on July 15. Five times, Liu has failed to appear. Liu's lawyer has each time sent medical documents to prosecutors claiming that Liu was unable to fly back to Taiwan.
Prosecutors said the medical documents were not authorized by the appropriate US officials.
Liu allegedly used the dirty money to solicit votes for his 1999 campaign for the legislative speakership. During the campaign, investigators say, Liu issued as many as 100 checks, of which some 20 were given to legislators.
Liu, a nine-term legislator, was legislative speaker between 1991 and 1998.
Last fall, the Supreme Court found that Liu helped Chihching Corp (
In November 1998, the bank approved a NT$1.5 billion loan for Chihching without making a proper assessment of the company's creditworthiness.
Following approval of the loan, Chihching paid Tseng a huge commission, and Tseng gave Liu NT$150 million in kickbacks, the court found.
The Supreme Court sentenced Tseng to 11 years in prison for financial irregularities totaling roughly NT$20 billion.
Liu told the court that he had only borrowed the NT$150 million from Tseng, and that he just hasn't returned it yet.
SCHEDULE: The delegation is due to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen this morning and witness the signing of an MOU on bilateral health cooperation in the afternoon US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar yesterday arrived in Taipei aboard a US government plane at the head of a delegation that is the highest-level visit by a US official since Washington switched diplomatic recognition to China in 1979. Azar’s flight landed at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) at 4:48pm, nearly one hour earlier than scheduled, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The apron where it landed is reserved for military aircraft, the Songshan Air Force Base Command said. The members of Azar’s delegation included HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Robert Kadlec, HHS Chief of Staff Brian
ALEX AZAR: The first visit by a head of the Department of Health and Human Services would strictly observe the CECC’s special regulations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar is to lead a delegation to Taiwan — the highest-level visit by a US Cabinet official since the two sides cut formal relations in 1979. The plan was announced yesterday morning by the US Department of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Beijing has expressed its concerns to Washington, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said later yesterday. Taiwan and the US only issued statements saying that the visit would happen “in the coming days.” MOFA said that due to security concerns, it would
‘CROSS-STRAIT CONSIDERATIONS’: Groups said that the Ministry of Education’s policies excluded Chinese and students should not be blocked over political issues The Taiwan International Student Movement yesterday said it would protest today outside the Ministry of Education in Taipei against a policy that excludes some Chinese students from returning to Taiwan amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Since June 17, the ministry has allowed foreign students from 19 “low risk” and “medium-low risk” countries and regions to enter Taiwan. On July 22, it announced that it was relaxing restrictions to include students from all countries and regions who are graduating this semester and on Wednesday it further expanded entry to students enrolled in degree programs. A letter sent by the ministry on Wednesday to universities did
The military last week sent “no small number” of Marine Corps officers to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) following reports of a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drill targeting the islands scheduled for this month. In an interview with Hong Kong’s Bauhinia Magazine published on Saturday last week, PLA National Defense University professor Li Daguang (李大光) confirmed that the Chinese army was planning to stage a simulated invasion of the Pratas Islands in the South China Sea this month. The islands comprise three atolls, with Pratas Island, at 1.74km2, being the largest. They lie southwest of Taiwan proper in the South
RSS