Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has railed against Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling that he and his wife should spend at least 11 years in prison — calling it “political murder” and suggesting that the verdict was unconstitutional, close supporter Ellen Huang (黃越綏) said yesterday.
Huang, a one-time national policy advisor, visited the former president at the Taipei Detention Center yesterday.
During the meeting, Chen expressed frustration at the ruling, which cannot be appealed, saying that it was unexpected and unfair, Huang said.
“Chen believes that the ruling was in violation of the Constitution and a kind of political murder,” Huang said, describing a conversation that was also attended by office secretary Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘).
“Chen thinks that the main reason was because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party want him dead,” Huang said.
In an unexpected decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled both Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), were guilty of accepting bribes in a land purchase scandal and facilitating a financial appointment, sentencing the couple to 11 years and eight years in prison respectively.
The court added that the first couple would have to pay a fine of NT$150 million (US$5 million) each and it also turned three other cases — charges in another land purchase deal, money laundering and the embezzlement of secret diplomatic funds — back to a lower court for a retrial.
Huang said Chen believes the latest ruling is political retribution and that he said: “History will change and there will not be a -political party that lasts forever.”
Huang added that the former president would “continue to wait in the shadows” and that he hasn’t given up hope.
Meanwhile, prison officials at the Taipei Detention Center, where Chen has been incarcerated for more than 700 days, were quoted by Central News Agency as saying yesterday that while it was impossible to tell how Chen was feeling, the former president was eating and drinking normally. Chen, who likely learned of the latest ruling on television, declined to go outside for his daily exercise, they said.
While Chen could be transferred to Taipei Prison following confirmation of whether his sentences would be served consecutively or concurrently, it is currently unclear where Wu, paralyzed below the waist, could be detained.
Under the Prison Act (監獄行刑法), prosecutors have discretion on where to hold elderly and disabled prisoners.
Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) said yesterday that currently both the Taichung Prison and the Kaohsiung Prison are equipped with medical facilities. Prosecutors would make the final call on Wu, Tseng said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LIN LIANG-CHEN
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
RSS