Court plans to open `secret' files

The president will try to prevent prosecutors in the "state affairs fund" case from unsealing documents that the administration describes as sensitive papers concerning diplomatic efforts that affect national security, officials said yesterday.

The Taipei District Court ruled in favor of unsealing the documents in the "state affairs fund" case on Friday and plans to open the documents today, court spokesman Liu Shou-sung (劉壽嵩) said yesterday.

In its ruling on Friday, the court gave the president until noon yesterday to provide information supporting his claims that the documents should fall under the protection of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法).

Insufficient

The court decided yesterday that the information it had received was insufficient to support this position. Liu said attorneys and prosecutors in the case would be able to read the documents today.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Office is ready to file a request for a constitutional interpretation if the court opens the documents.

The Taipei District Court ruled that the six secret diplomatic missions President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) claimed had been financed by the fund were not secret because they were not placed under the protection of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act.

Presidential Office Spokesman David Lee (李南陽) said it was regrettable that the court had decided to open the documents and that those involved would be called to account for their actions.

Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told a press conference that the office had mailed a response to the Taipei District Court, asking them to respect the president's "executive privilege" and the privilege attached to "state secrets."

"The documents the court intends to open are top secret and should be kept secret for the sake of the nation's image, security and interests," Cho said. "If the court sees it differently, the dispute must be settled by the Council of Grand Justices."

No timeline

Cho, however, did not specify when a request for a constitutional interpretation would be filed or whether the Presidential Official or Chen himself would make the request.

"What matters most is that there shouldn't be a dispute. If a dispute is unavoidable, we are concerned with how it should be resolved. Who resolves it and when it is resolved are secondary," he said.

Cho said the court should realize that the president has the constitutional power to set policies concerning national security. Such policies cover the areas of defense, foreign affairs, cross-strait affairs and major national disasters.

Since the president's privilege is protected by the Constitution, Cho argued that state secrets protected by such privilege are not covered by the Classified National Security Information Protection Act.

The information Prosecutor Eric Chen (陳瑞仁) obtained from the president during their interview should also remain secret unless the president decides otherwise, Cho said.

Cho said that Presidential Office Secretary-General Mark Chen (陳唐山) and four other members of the presidential staff would consider taking legal action in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code (刑事訴訟法) if the court insisted on unsealing the president's "secret" documents.

The five have been fined NT$30,000 each for refusing to testify in court.