Former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday exercised his right to remain silent during questioning at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office as part of an ongoing inquiry into an alleged breach of financial regulations during the sale of three media companies formerly run by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The KMT in 2005 sold Central Motion Picture Corp (CMPC, 中影), China Television Co (CTV, 中視) and Broadcasting Corp of China (BCC, 中廣), after an amendment to the Broadcasting and Television Act (廣播電視法) in 2003 barred political parties, the military and politicians from owning media outlets.
Ma, who was then-KMT chairman, is accused of illegally facilitating the sales of the media outlets below market value, which would be a breach of the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法).
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Ma left the office after four hours of questioning and immediately issued a statement, saying the prosecution is procedurally unjust and that he exercised his right to silence.
“Any neutral, objective and full examination of evidence will acquit me from allegations of criminality. Should the office have concerns other than these, I am not a pugnacious man, but I do not run from a fight,” he said.
Ma said the allegations leveled against him are “groundless accusations” and accused the prosecution of engaging a smear campaign through the media against his character and reputation.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“It is my opinion that the office has breached the principles of objectivity and confidentiality under articles 2 and 245 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法),” he said.
The prosecutors have dismissed charges of breaching investigative confidentiality that Ma had filed against Chief Prosecutor Shing Tai-chao (邢泰釗) and Lead Prosecutor Wang Hsin-chien (王鑫健), and his request for remanding the case to another jurisdiction was also rejected, Ma said.
That the decision was made by a Taipei prosecutor surnamed Huang (黃), who is also investigating the sale of the media outlets, raises doubts over procedural correctness, Ma said.
Shing and Wang called a news conference on Dec. 13 last year to deny allegations of leaking information about their investigation before the case was registered formally, and attributed the leak to the media, Ma said, calling the move “rash.”
Ma vowed to continue exercising his right to silence during questioning until the legality of the investigation is affirmed and the office can prove itself to be unbiased.
Sources previously told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) on condition of anonymity that Taipei prosecutors are in possession of an allegedly incriminating recording.
It is purportedly a recording of Ma’s conversation with former KMT-controlled Central Investment Co (CIC, 中央投資公司) general manager Wang Hai-ching (汪海清) over a dispute with CTV’s eventual buyer, Yu Chien-hsin (余建新).
Ma allegedly told Wang to concede to Yu’s demands and refrain from actions that would “jeopardize the deal,” sources said.
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