The Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office yesterday said that President Chen Shui-bian (
Chang Wen-cheng (張文政), spokesman for the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office, confirmed yesterday that the president was interrogated on Aug. 7 at the Presidential Office and Wu was questioned on Aug. 20 at the official Yushan Residence (玉山官邸) .
"[Chen and Wu] were not accompanied by their lawyers, although we clearly told them they had the right to do so," Chang said at a press conference yesterday morning.
Prosecutors also informed the couple that the case under investigation "will very likely become one in which suspects could be charged with forgery or graft," and asked the two if they would like to have their lawyers with them. However, both parties replied that they saw "no need" to call their lawyers, he said.
Chang stressed that both the president and the first lady remain "legal parties" in the case and have not been enlisted as defendants, and that the prosecutors were obligated, in compliance with Article 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedures (刑事訴訟法), to tell any individual being questioned that he or she has the right to call a lawyer if there is a chance that the person might become a defendant in the case.
Chang said he could not confirm whether prosecutors would summon the president and the first lady again in the near future because of a gag order.
Both Chen and Wu clearly answered every question posed by the prosecutors, Chang said, adding that the president also provided some evidence in his defense.
Prosecutors will review and investigate the evidence provided by the president, Chang said.
The Presidential Office also confirmed that the president and his wife were questioned by prosecutors but dismissed the allegation that they refused to cooperate.
"We have submitted to prosecutors all the original receipts of the president's special allowance fund dating back to May 2000," Presidential Office spokesman David Lee (李南陽) said.
Lee said the president had made it clear on July 31 that he would be happy to personally explain his special allowance fund to prosecutors and investigators in a bid to help establish the truth.
When asked why they did not disclose the couple's meetings with prosecutors earlier, Lee said they were not in a position to offer details of a legal case and that the media should ask prosecutors for comment on the matter.
The Presidential Office issued a statement at 12:13am yesterday, telling the media that Chen did explain the matter to prosecutors at the Presidential Office on Aug. 7.
"The president stressed that he never pocketed the funds and that he respects the judicial investigation and will offer his full cooperation," the statement said.
The statement was made in response to a report published in Tuesday's edition of the Chinese-language China Times claiming that the investigation into the allowance fund hit a snag as the Presidential Office refused to provide receipts and documents.
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