Both the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Justice said yesterday that Justin Lin (林毅夫), who defected to China in 1979 and later became a vice president at the World Bank, is still a fugitive wanted on treason charges, whose prosecution has not even begun.
Officials from the ministries made the remarks after the reform of the Code of Court Martial Procedure (軍事審判法), which subsequently reopened the debate over whether to allow the return of one of the country’s best-known defectors.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday promulgated an amendment to the court martial code, signaling that as of tomorrow, military personnel facing trial during times of peace will have their cases handled in civilian courts. The revised Code of Court Martial Procedure cleared the legislative floor on Tuesday last week with the support of lawmakers across the political divide.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The first phase of changes means that crimes of abuse or improper punishment of subordinates, prevention of filing grievances, obstruction of sexual autonomy or manslaughter committed by servicemen will be subject to the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法). Other offenses will likewise be subject to civilian trials starting five months later.
Under the revised law, ongoing cases currently under investigation, trial or execution by the military justice system must be turned over to civilian courts to be completed. With the newly adopted reform, the justice ministry and a civilian court will decide whether the warrant for Lin’s arrest has expired.
Defection to an enemy state is punishable by death, life imprisonment or a minimum of 10 years in prison under the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法).
The law’s statute of limitations is 20 years, but the defense ministry says Lin should continue to be listed as a fugitive because he has been in a constant state of defection.
Vice director of the defense ministry’s Judicial Department Colonel Shen Shih-wei (沈世偉) yesterday cited Article 80 of the Criminal Code, which states that prescription of prosecution begins when the alleged criminal offense is committed, but for a continued offender, the prescription of prosecution begins only when the conduct of the alleged offense ends.
Shen told a press conference held at the defense ministry yesterday that Lin’s act of treason has been continuing since he defected to China in 1979 and that after consulting with the justice ministry last year, the ministry ascertained that as a continued offender, Lin’s prescription of prosecution has not even begun.
Lin remains on the wanted list, Shen added.
Following the reform of the Code of Court Martial Procedure, Shen said that in the first stage, about 250 people would be transferred to civilian prisons.
In the second stage, general-level military personnel who are detained or are serving terms are expected to be transferred to civilian prisons five months later, he said, adding that cases of treason and other serious crimes, including Lin’s case, would be transferred to the civilian judiciary in the second stage, five months later.
Lin, 60, was born in Yilan. While serving as a captain in the army, Lin was held up as a role model for his decision to drop out of the prestigious National Taiwan University and join up.
However, he defected to China in 1979, by swimming from Kinmen to China’s Fujian Province.
Lin received a master’s degree in Marxist political economics from Peking University in 1982, and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago in 1986, becoming one of the first Chinese citizens to earn a doctoral degree during the early stages of economic reform in China.
In 2008, he was named a senior vice president and chief economist at the World Bank.
In May 2002, Lin filed an application from Beijing to return to Taiwan to attend his father’s funeral. The government approved his application, but warned that he could face charges of treason if he returned. Lin decided not to risk detention and did not attend his father’s funeral.
Additional reporting by CNA
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2