Dozens of investigators raided former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) office yesterday morning after allegations surfaced that he had illegally removed boxes of classified government documents from the Presidential Office when he left office two years ago.
The search by the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigation Panel (SIP) resulted in the removal of almost 60 boxes of files from the ex-president’s former office on Guanqian Road in Taipei and his new office on Linyi Street, office director Chen Sung-shan (陳淞山) said.
Chen Sung-shan told the Taipei Times that the former president had yet to learn about the search, which he called political manipulation efforts aimed at diverting public attention away from a string of scandals surrounding the Taipei International Flora Expo and undermining the Democratic Progressive Party ahead of the year-end municipal elections.
‘AMBUSH’
“It was an ambush. We had no time to prepare or answer their questions. Since when did prosecutors suddenly become so efficient?” he asked. “We couldn’t even get a lawyer on the scene in time.”
According to office aides, Chen Sung-shan was brought in for questioning on Tuesday as a witness over the contents of the boxes, after which a search warrant was issued by the SIP.
Attention was first drawn to the issue in June after the former president’s staff wrote to the Presidential Office asking how they should handle 20 boxes of official documents they had found.
The Presidential Office asked in writing for the return of the documents, but on Aug. 10 and again on Aug. 31, Chen Shui-bian’s aides said they would have to consult with the former president — something that was expected to take place later this week — to ask for his approval before the documents could be retuned.
“We decided to search the office because of a pressing need to preserve evidence,” said Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達), a spokesman for the prosecutors.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Last week, the Presidential Office took legal action to reclaim the documents, saying Chen Shui-bian would have breached security protocols and endangered national security if the boxes contained classified information.
The Presidential Office and the SIP filed a lawsuit against Chen’s office on charges that the former president may have broken the Criminal Code.
If found guilty, the former president could face another jail term of up to seven years, on top of his 20-year-sentence from the Taiwan High Court over corruption charges.
The legal problems could come as a further blow to Chen Shui-bian, who saw his former presidential courtesy treatment, including a monthly allowance and other annual subsidies, revoked by the legislature last month.
His son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), who is running for the post of Kaohsiung City councilor as an independent, has said the amended law could spell financial trouble for the former first family and that the operations of his father’s office could be cut back or shut down altogether.
Chen Shui-bian and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), were convicted last year of embezzling state funds, forgery and laundering money through Swiss bank accounts. The verdict has been appealed to the Taiwan Supreme Court.
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling, AFP and CNA
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS