The Special Investigation Panel (SIP) of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office said yesterday it would investigate former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) on suspicion of money laundering.
“We will look into the allegation brought against Lee,” SIP spokesman Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) told reporters.
When asked if former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was the accuser as some local media had reported, the prosecutor said “yes.”
Chen Yun-nan said that Chen Shui-bian provided information on Lee’s alleged money laundering during the investigation. He did not elaborate on the details of the charges.
At a separate setting yesterday, the Taiwan Solidarity Union Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) slammed Chen Shui-bian for blurring the focus of the case by allegedly accusing Lee — the party’s spiritual leader.
“Lee has always welcomed the prosecutors to launch a probe [into his financial dealings]. Everyone knows Chen [Shui-bian’s] only tactic left is to blur the focus. I am 200 percent confident in Lee’s integrity,” Lin said.
Later yesterday however, one of Chen Shui-bian’s defense attorneys, Shih Yi-lin (石宜琳), said his client never filed any complaints with the prosecutors against Lee. Chen Shui-bian had nothing to do with the probe into Lee’s financial dealings, Shih said.
“It is one big misunderstanding. My client never provided any information regarding [former] president Lee on his own initiative or when asked by the prosecutors,” said Shih, adding that he speculated the rumor was probably started by some “opportunistic politicians.”
Chen Shui-bian was indicted on Dec. 12 on graft charges for allegedly embezzling NT$104 million (US$3.14 million) from a special presidential fund together with his wife. Several former senior officials from his administration are also under investigation for corruption.
He has previously alleged on television that his predecessor transferred around NT$1.6 billion abroad through dummy accounts — charges Lee rejected.
Hailed as “Mr Democracy,” Lee pushed through reforms to allow direct elections of the president and national lawmakers. He was also Taiwan’s first democratically elected president. Lee served as Taiwan’s president from 1988 to 2000, when he was succeeded by Chen Shui-bian.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
RSS