The Taiwan High Court yesterday found former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) guilty of leaking classified information obtained from Special Investigation Division (SID) wiretaps of two top lawmakers in 2013.
Ma is the second former Taiwanese president to be convicted of a crime, following former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), since direct presidential elections started in 1996.
Overturning the Taipei District Court’s not guilty verdict delivered on Aug. 25 last year, the High Court said Ma contravened the Communication Security and Surveillance Act (通訊保障及監察法) and the Personal Information Protection Act (個人資料保護法), and was guilty of leaking confidential information under the Criminal Code.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
He was sentenced to four months in jail, which can be commuted to a fine of NT$120,000.
Ma said he would appeal the ruling.
An investigation found that Ma had on Aug. 31, 2013, instructed then-prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) to hold a meeting regarding transcripts from telephone wiretapping, which were obtained during a judicial investigation into alleged improper lobbying involving Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) and then-legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The probe found that Ma then divulged the classified information from the transcripts of a conversation between Ker, Wang and others to then-premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and then-Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強).
During the trial, Ma claimed “special presidential executive powers,” which he said granted him the right to inquire about ongoing criminal investigations to prepare for potential crises that could destabilize the government.
Ma argued that he had the right to do so based on Article 44 of the Constitution, which states the president has the right to handle a dispute between two or more of the five branches of government.
However, the High Court ruled that the 2013 investigation into Ker and Wang did not involve a dispute between two or more branches of government and Ma was therefore not entitled to exercise the executive power.
Together with the new interpretation, the High Court judges ruled that there was clear evidence that Ma leaked confidential information from the investigation to Jiang and Lo.
“Ma was the nation’s leader at the time, but he had seriously undermined the Constitution and disregarded the rule of law, and clearly is not a model example for people to follow,” the High Court ruling said.
“The Constitution provides guarantees for the basic rights of the people, which the nation’s governmental offices and officials shall not infringe upon,” presiding judge Chiang Chen-yi (江振義) said.
“Ma, as head of the government, should have endeavored to uphold the constitutional framework and the rule of law,” Chiang said.
Huang, who led the now-defunct SID of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, was forced to resign from his post in March 2014 and was convicted in 2015 of divulging confidential information to Ma and Jiang.
Revelation of the SID’s wiretapping and secret surveillance of top political figures sparked a firestorm. Ma was accused of pursuing a personal vendetta against Wang and Ker, which led to the “September strife” of 2013, and subsequently to discord and infighting within the KMT.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he