The Taipei District Court yesterday set Sept. 11 as the date it will announce its verdict in the corruption cases against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
The former president has maintained that the money he sent overseas was from leftover campaign funds that he dedicated to classified foreign relations building, while denying that the money was earned through illegal dealings.
The court will hear the closing defense from former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) and the former president on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
Chen was indicted on Dec. 13 last year on charges of embezzling government funds, money laundering and forgery, along with 13 co-defendants, including his wife. He is incarcerated at the Taipei Detention Center.
Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) also set Aug. 4 as the date on which the court will hear arguments on whether the couple’s son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) and daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), and others would be allowed to enter plea bargaining.
The younger Chen and his wife had promised to wire the family’s overseas funds of about NT$1.2 billion (US$36 million) from Swiss accounts and paper companies back to Taiwan as part of the conditions to enter plea bargaining.
However, none of the money has been remitted because Swiss authorities froze the funds based on the two country’s judicial mutual assistance agreement. Taiwanese prosecutors are in the process of requesting that the money be unfrozen and wired back.
Meanwhile, Tsai yesterday heard closing arguments from former Hsinchu Science Park chief James Lee (李界木), who is also a co-defendant in Chen Shui-bian’s trial. Lee, along with Chen Shui-bian, is charged with taking kickbacks from a government land deal in Longtan (龍潭), Taoyuan County.
Lee yesterday admitted to taking NT$30 million (US$1 million) in bribes and pleaded to the court for a light sentence. When Lee testified as a witness in Chen Shui-bian’s trials, his testimony contradicted what he told Special Investigation Panel prosecutors.
Prosecutors argued that Lee’s contradictory remarks showed he had been trying to cover up for the former president and Wu, and advised against a lighter sentence.
Prosecutors allege that in a meeting at the Presidential Office between the former president, Lee and other government officials, Chen Shui-bian proposed that the administration first rent the plot of land, then buy it and eventually include it as part of a science park.
Prosecutors allege that the plan was for the former first lady to collect NT$400 million (US$12 million) in bribes as part of a deal between the government-run Hsinchu Science Park and Dayu Development Corp.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
TOKYO SUMMIT: The new Japanese PM’s words have demonstrated Japan’s ‘firm position on urging the prioritization of cross-strait peace,’ the foreign ministry said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday thanked US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for supporting peace in the Taiwan Strait, a day after the two at a summit in Tokyo emphasized the importance of regional stability and ahead of a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea today. The previous day’s meeting was the first time Takaichi had met with the US leader since becoming Japanese prime minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Since taking office on Tuesday last week, Takaichi has urged the international community to
RSS