Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday ended his four-day hunger strike, the day before a three-day court hearing that is part of his trial on money-laundering and corruption charges.
Chen had not eaten anything since Friday in protest at what he says is political persecution by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
The former president started eating again after his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), visited him for the first time since he was detained in late December.
“He ate some rice porridge and some fish and vegetables his wife brought in,” Taipei Detention House deputy director Lee Ta-chu (李大竹) said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsueh Ling (薛凌), who accompanied Wu, told reporters that Wu asked her husband to eat as he would need his strength to fight the charges against him.
“He is still in reasonable health, although a little dehydrated and should be able to attend tomorrow’s hearing,” Lee said.
Meanwhile, Chen’s lawyers told a press conference at Chen’s office yesterday afternoon that prosecutors from the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigation Panel (SIP) had deliberately altered witnesses’ testimony in the alleged money laundering case.
His lawyers yesterday made public DVDs of prosecutors’ interviews with former Presidential Office treasurer Chen Chen-hui (陳鎮慧), former Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) vice chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒), Taiwan Cement Corp (台泥) chairman Leslie Koo (辜成允) and James Lee (李界木), former Hsinchu Science Park Administration chief. Conversations between the defendants and SIP prosecutors were incomplete, as parts of them were muted and other parts had been deleted.
“This is incontrovertible evidence that the statements from witnesses presented by the SIP are insufficient and ineligible as evidence for the hearings, as they are incomplete,” said Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文龍), one of the former president’s lawyers.
In addition, Cheng also questioned why prosecutors had only selected statements against Chen Shui-bian and deleted statements made in his favor.
“Statements like these should be inadmissible as evidence for hearings,” said Shih Yi-ling (石宜琳), another lawyer.
“We will ask the judges to review these DVDs. We will also ask for cross-examination of the witnesses and the former president in court if necessary,” Shih said.
In response to the complaints, SIP spokesman Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) said: “Our colleagues may have forgotten to push the record button, so some of the interview would be muted. Glitches like these can be ironed out in the future. But all these statements were signed by the witnesses under their own free will. So the statements are 100 percent qualified as testimony for the hearings.”
Chen Yun-nan also confirmed that prosecutors interviewed Central Bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) in connection with the case at a secret location yesterday, but the spokesman refused to confirm the contents of the conversation.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
RSS