Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) was cleared of embezzlement charges yesterday, as the Taiwan High Court upheld a not-guilty verdict handed down by a lower court.
The Taiwan High Court said it found no evidence that Lee embezzled US$7.79 million in state funds used to conduct foreign affairs.
The Taipei District Court acquitted Lee of the charges in November last year, but the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office appealed the ruling to the High Court.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Lee issued a statement via his office yesterday after the verdict was announced saying he felt no particular joy over the ruling, because the SID was pursuing an old case by laying charges against him without any evidence.
“Now I hope the dust has settled and the case can be closed. The judiciary has to become truly independent, so in the future no person will be wrongly persecuted,” Lee said.
“Taiwan is now a democracy. The governing authority must not manipulate the judiciary to maintain its hold on political power. It should focus its efforts on the nation’s development,” he said.
Lee’s lawyer, Wellington Koo (顧立雄), said that “in his heart,” the former president does welcome the ruling that exonerates him and clears his name.
“Otherwise, Lee would be tainted by the charges in this late stage of his life, something he cannot accept,” Koo said.
Koo criticized the SID for reopening the case, which was closed in 2006, and then appealing the lower court’s decision to the higher court.
“Now the High Court has cleared Lee of the charges, but the damage has been done. There should be a mechanism to pursue the SID’s legal responsibility in bringing these charges,” he said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said that both the rulings proved that the SID had a political motive when it first filed charges against Lee six months before the 2012 presidential election.
“The SID was abusing its power, acting like nothing but a political henchman of [President] Ma [Ying-jeou, 馬英九] in persecuting the former president,” Huang said.
Legal experts said that as the courts had acquitted Lee, and the SID can only file an appeal with the Supreme Court if the second ruling were found to be in violation of the Constitution, the case is likely to be closed with yesterday’s ruling.
Meanwhile, yesterday’s ruling extended the prison term given to Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英), a close associate of Lee and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) treasurer, to three years, from the previous two years and eight months.
The High Court said it found evidence that Liu had embezzled US$150,000 in traveler’s checks.
Liu’s lawyer, Chen Sung-tung (陳松棟), said the verdict was “unbelievable,” adding that there was no evidence that Liu embezzled state funds.
He said the verdict would be appealed to the Supreme Court.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS