A wealthy fugitive couple has been placed on the most-wanted list, with law enforcement officials saying they are now seeking the assistance of Interpol and the US government, as the two have fled China and are now in the US.
The fugitives, Rebar Asia Pacific Group (力霸亞太企業集團) chairman Wang You-theng (王又曾) and his wife Wang Chin She-ying (王金世英), are at the center of a major financial scandal and are believed to have stolen and embezzled millions of dollars before going on the lam.
Taipei District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Lin Jinn-tsun (
But prosecutors believe the couple hold passports from other countries.
Prosecutors on Friday issued arrest warrants for Wang and his wife on charges relating to embezzlement from his firms, but the couple failed to show up.
Shanghai
Immigration records show that Wang flew to Hong Kong on Dec. 30, with his wife following on Jan. 1. The two were later spotted at a luxury hotel in Shanghai, media reports said.
Meanwhile, senior officials said the couple had fled China and made their way to the US on Saturday.
"They got on an airplane bound for San Francisco at 11:20am in Shanghai last Saturday. Wang You-theng presented a Republic of China passport to enter the US, while his wife presented a US passport," Cabinet Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said.
After Wang and his wife fled to China, the government urged Beijing to deport them to Taiwan.
"If [reports that Wang and his wife] entered the US prove to be true, it shows that China has no sincerity in answering the government's request [for extradition]. Instead, the Chinese government helped them abscond," Cheng said.
Cheng said that China was a haven for Taiwanese white-collar criminals.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has instructed the MOFA to negotiate with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on the possibility of judicial assistance in this case, Cheng said.
Meanwhile, the government has also asked the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to assist in locating Wang and his wife, Criminal Investigation Bureau Supervisor Hsu Jui-shan (許瑞山) said during a public hearing in the legislature.
Red Notice
Hsu said that the bureau last week requested the inclusion of Wang and his wife on a "Red Notice" from Interpol. A Red Notice is essentially a notice to police agencies worldwide that a person is wanted, and requests Interpol members to help locate wanted individuals for arrest and extradition.
"We have informed the organization that Wang and his wife are involved in major crimes in Taiwan, and today we will let [Interpol] know that [the Wangs] have been placed on the wanted list," he said.
MOFA Spokesman David Wang (
"We have asked our representative offices in the US to confirm [the couple's presence in the US] with US agencies. But because of the time difference and the fact that it is Martin Luther King Jr Day, a US national holiday, we have not obtained a response so far," David Wang said.
David Wang also said that the MOFA had alerted the US and other countries that Wang You-theng might engage in international money laundering.
Taiwan can seek the US' assistance under the Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement on Criminal Matters between Taiwan and the US signed in 2002. However, because Taiwan has no official diplomatic relation with the US, it cannot ask the US to extradite Wang, David Wang said.
David Wang had no comment on whether the Executive Yuan had been tipped off about the Wangs' whereabouts through the AIT.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS