He also said that as a former president, he did not know of any methods of escaping the country to which he had access because they were only accessible from places such as the Presidential Office.
Chen has been in detention since last December. He and former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) received life sentences and fines of NT$200 million and NT$300 million respectively in the first trial on Sept. 11.
After the hearing concluded, dozens of Chen’s supporters protested in front the Taiwan High Court, demanding his immediate release.
Led by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei Branch director Huang Ching-lin (黃慶林), the protesters wore yellow headbands and held banners supporting the former president and criticizing the legal system for not processing a constitutional interpretation on whether the Taipei District Court’s judicial process was unconstitutional.
“The Council of Grand Justices should promptly interpret whether switching judges in Chen’s trial was unconstitutional. We are calling on Judiciary President Lai In-jaw (賴英照) to stop protecting judges,” said Huang, who said he had not been surprised by the hearing’s outcome “because Taiwan’s judicial system has no fairness to speak of, especially as it is under the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] control.”
The DPP released a statement expressing “regret” over the High Court’s ruling, saying it had discredited the nation’s legal system.
The decision to continue detaining Chen highlighted the flaws of the system and “seriously disregarded the defendant’s legal rights” by robbing him of a fair trial, the statement said.
DPP acting spokesman Chuang Shuo-han (莊碩漢) said the party would continue to support Chen. A more definite plan of action on how to “save Chen,” which includes the possible mobilization of 1,000 people to sue the Council of Grand Justices for malfeasance, would most likely be announced on Wednesday at the party’s Central Standing Committee, he said.
Meanwhile, National Police Agency Director General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) said it was inappropriate for Chen to disclose the location of secret tunnels.
KMT Legislator Luo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) also criticized Chen at the legislature’s State Affairs Forum for revealing the information, saying it was “mean” of him because it would jeopardize the nation’s safety.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said he did not think Chen was wrong and attacked the High Court’s decision to keep him in detention.
Also See: EDITORIAL: ... and justice for none
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