Insisting that she was unjustly declared guilty of corruption and vowing to fight to clear her name, former minister of transportation and communications Kuo Yao-chi (郭瑤琪) bade a tearful farewell to her supporters yesterday morning as she headed off to Taoyuan Women’s Prison.
Chanting “Stop the political persecution” and “The minister is innocent,” a crowd of former colleagues and supporters greeted Kuo as she stepped out of her car to report to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office before being sent to prison.
Kuo was accused to taking an US$20,000 bribe from Nanrenhu Co (南仁湖集團) for a Taipei Railroad Station redevelopment project during her term as minister and sentenced to eight years in prison.
Photo: Lin Chun-hung, Taipei Times
“On Jan. 8, 2014, I am going into prison. This is something I’ve never thought would happen during my life as a law-abiding civil servant,” Kuo told reporters waiting outside of the prosecutors’ office.
“I believe that a lot of people still think that I actually took US$20,000 in bribes, but those who are so convinced must have not read the written verdict, and the evidence on which the judge based his sentence,” she said.
Kuo said she never confessed to the charges even though there were many media reports citing prosecutors as saying that she has admitted them.
“The judge sentenced me to eight years in prison based on the testimony that I accepted bribes given to me in tea canisters,” she said.
“If you watch the video recording of the witness’ testimony, you will see that the witness was not clear about the size or color of the cans, or what the cans were made of,” she said.
“The judge failed to track the cash flow of the so-called ‘bribe,’ and the numbers of the banknotes that the witness cited are different from banknotes found in my home,” Kuo said. “In addition, Nanrenhu never bid on the Taipei Railroad Station redevelopment project.”
However, Kuo said she has learned that a court could sentence an innocent person to eight years in prison without any hard evidence and the Supreme Court could overturn a not-guilty ruling without reviewing the evidence submitted by the defendant.
“I am going to jail, but my lawyer and my loved ones will continue to fight for my innocence,” she said.
After speaking to reporters, Kuo walked into the prosecutors’ office escorted by supporters and her former colleagues, including former deputy minister of transportation and communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) and former Overseas Compatriot Commission minister Chang Fu-mei (張富美).
Each gave her a hug before saying goodbye.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS