The US may have been influenced by pressure from Taipei in its decision to seize properties in New York and Virginia that had allegedly been bought with bribes paid to the former first family, a Taiwan-born lawyer said.
The US Department of Justice has filed civil forfeiture complaints against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), based almost entirely on information from President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration and before Taiwanese courts have made a final ruling in the case, said Yang Tai-yu, who now runs a law practice in Iowa.
“There are two ways to look at what has happened, the legal way and the political way,” Yang said.
“This is a civil forfeiture complaint and not a criminal one. The government in Washington does not have to wait for the legal action to be completed in Taipei. These are two different cases,” said Yang, who has made a special study of the case.
“I have read the complaints and the legal documents, and the move by the US government seems hasty. The most the US has to gain is to win these two properties. Even then they will have to give some of the money they get for them back to Taiwan,” he said.
“The US does not have a whole lot to gain financially. This is not a terrorism case [and] there is no national security issue involved. So why would they be in such a hurry to file the case?” he asked.
Yang said it was obvious from the legal documents that the information supporting the US case was provided by Taiwan’s government.
“The question is, why is the Taiwanese government pushing this and why is the US government cooperating with them?” he asked.
“There is nothing for the US government to gain by acting at this point in time. The property is not going anywhere. They could wait until the supreme legal authority in Taiwan makes a decision on it and then move if necessary,” Yang said.
“It is also curious that the US government should choose to cooperate in this way on this case,” he said.
The US government filed its case in the courts on July 14, saying Chen’s property in the US was subject to forfeiture because “it was involved in money laundering and represents the proceeds of a bribery and money laundering scheme.”
A US Department of Justice press release on the case makes Washington’s cooperation with Taipei very clear.
“The Department of Justice and ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] worked closely with the Taiwan Supreme Prosecutors Office, Special Investigation Division to gather and exchange evidence regarding the money laundering that took place in this case to support the forfeiture of these funds,” the statement says.
The US investigation, it said, was conducted “in cooperation with prosecutors in Taiwan.”
Asked how the case would proceed from here, the Department of Justice told the Taipei Times: “We will continue with legal proceedings regarding our filings. If we prevail and the properties are declared US government property, they will be sold and the proceeds deposited into the forfeiture fund and then available to share back with Taiwan.”
A department source denied there had been pressure from the Ma administration to bring the civil case against Chen.
“They were very cooperative, but all decisions to proceed were made here without interference from Taipei,” the source said.
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS