The Taipei District Court yesterday acquitted former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in a case in which he was charged with embezzling state funds.
Lee’s aide, Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英), was sentenced to two years, eight months on charges of embezzlement of public property and deprived of his civil rights for three years, the ruling said.
The Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on June 30, 2011, indicted Lee and Liu, accusing them of siphoning off US$7.8 million in secret diplomatic funds to set up the Taiwan Research Institute.
The district court said there was no evidence that showed Lee knew where the diplomatic funds went and that he was involved in the matter.
It added that Liu was in charge of embezzling the funds to establish the Taiwan Research Institute, but since none of the funds went to Liu and the institute had returned the money to the government, the court handed Liu a lenient sentence.
Liu could appeal the ruling with the Taiwan High Court, it added.
Lee’s lawyer, Wellington Koo (顧立雄), said that Lee’s indictment had been unreasonable.
The evidence presented in Lee’s indictment was identical to that in the case against former National Security Bureau chief accountant Hsu Ping-chiang (徐炳強). Hsu was found not guilty, so there was no reason to indict Lee for the same offense, Koo added.
Koo said the trial had been “torture” for 90-year-old Lee, adding he hoped the SID would not waste legal resources by appealing the case to the high court.
The SID said it would decide whether to appeal the case after studying the ruling.
The trial was held behind closed doors because the proceedings contained discussions of sensitive national security issues. The ruling document is also classified.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei