Prosecutors said yesterday that they would interview President Chen Shui-bian (
"We have interviewed a number of people as witnesses to learn why their receipts were used to seek reimbursements from the special state affairs fund, and now we will need a statement from President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in order to compare his words with those of the witnesses," Prosecutor Eric Chen (陳瑞仁) of the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office told the Taipei Times yesterday.
"But prosecutors have not decided when and where they will question Chen [Shui-bian]," he said.
Prosecutors said they found that many of the receipts submitted to the Presidential Office were from jewelry stores, watch shops and upscale department stores.
Prosecutors said they have interviewed more than 100 individuals in the case.
Opposition lawmakers have accused first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) of pocketing cash from a Presidential Office expense fund by seeking reimbursement for fake expenditures using receipts provided by a number of individuals.
The president was questioned at the Presidential Office on Aug. 7, and Wu was questioned at the official Yushan Residence on Aug. 20 about alleged irregularities in the use of the fund.
Prosecutors told a press conference after those interviews that Chen had said some of the receipts in question had been submitted by his wife, but he said that the reimbursements were for secret diplomatic expenses, and neither he nor his wife had ever pocketed any of the money.
During the first session of questioning, prosecutors told the president that the questioning might result in charges of fraud or corruption.
Eric Chen said yesterday that the investigation had been tough because it was difficult to verify the president's answers.
Because of the recent wave of anti-Chen Shui-bian protests, politicians from across the political spectrum, such as former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), have called on prosecutors to speed up the pace of their investigation.
Eric Chen, however, said yesterday that there was no set timetable for the investigation.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
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‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)