As reports surface alleging that the Ministry of Justice is covering up an ongoing scandal involving members of the judiciary, Minister of Justice Yeh Chin-fong (
Responding yesterday to challenges over her resolve in handling the case, Yeh said she would not allow any attempts at a white-wash, and has ordered State Public Prosecutor General Lu Jen-fa (
"Lu is one of the few persons thought appropriate to take charge, given the fact that the State Public Prosecutor General's Office of the Supreme Court is the only agency whose prosecutors have not been linked to the misconduct," Yeh said.
DPP legislator Lee Wen-chung (
Two of the prosecutors named by Lee are from the Public Prosecutors' Office of the Taiwan High Court. The other, Ho Chun-ying (
At a closed-door meeting with the minister yesterday, members of the Prosecutors' Reform Association (
"We were told that a few higher-level prosecutors have also played a part in the scandal, which made us suspect existing investigations by district prosecutors will not reveal the true extent of the case, said Liu Wei-tsung (
Association members also pointed out that the government ethics department is not qualified to handle the case because its own prosecutor is suspected of misconduct.
Yeh said she did not agree, but stressed it was both her own and the association's goal to find out the whole truth -- which now involves not only district prosecutors but High Court prosecutors too.
Yeh said she has requested Lu find a means by which impartiality can be maintained during the investigation, to ensure that its findings are just. Ho, because of his suspicion of misconduct, will no longer take part in the investigations, Yeh said.
It is very rare for the Prosecutor General to oversee matters concerning the ethics of public officials, analysts said.
Last November, a legislator disclosed that judges and prosecutors were engaged in illicit transactions of Taiwan Pineapple stock, coinciding with an existing investigation into suspected insider-trading at the company.
Though many had thought the scandal had been fully exposed, further disclosure of information on Thursday has widened the scope of the high-profile judiciary scandal.
In releasing Lee Yu-huei's bank records, Lee Wen-chung drew attention to the fact that Ho, High Court prosecutor Chen Wei-lien (
Also under suspicion is money Lee received from Yang Kuei-sen (
Lee accused the district prosecutors involved of not dis-charging their duties properly -- questioning why they did not take any action after receiving the information revealed on Thursday.
Lee Wei-chang (李韋昌), one of the three prosecutors in charge, said yesterday that he could not find any evidence that the three prosecutors have been engaged in transactions involving Taiwan Pine-apple stock -- adding that there is nothing unlawful about their relationships with Lee Yu-huei.
Other prosecutors are apparently worried that the collective image of the judiciary will be further tarnished.
"We will not allow any more cover-ups. Are we going to wait for another two months and for another legislator to disclose further information on the scandal?" Liu asked.
"Should such a situation arise, I'll be ashamed to call myself a prosecutor," Liu said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique