Hong Kong media tycoon Lam Por Yen (
Lam, former chairman of Asia Television Ltd and chairman of the Lai Sun Group, was given a two-year prison sentence for bribery but was acquitted of money laundering. He was previously sentenced to three years and two months in prison on the two charges by the Taipei District Court last February.
Lam, who left Taiwan on a bail of NT$40 million following the February ruling, did not attend court yesterday.
On the charge of bribery, the High Court reasoned Lam's sentence should be reduced on the grounds that he had made a full confession.
To encourage disclosure of public corruption, anyone convicted of giving bribes to a public official may have their punishment reduced if they confess during investigations or a trial.
Also, Chuang Yu-kun (
Having been detained for over three years, Chuang made another request for bail in court yesterday, but was again refused. He said he will appeal again.
The court found Lam guilty of bribing Chuang in exchange for preferential treatment in a land deal on an aborted construction scheme at Taipei University in Sanhsia (
In addition to being convicted of malfeasance for accepting the bribe from Lam, Chuang was also found guilty of taking bribes from land owners who had sought Chuang's favor in approving the zoning of their land in Sanchih (
With his close connections to politicians and businessmen in Hong Kong and Taiwan, Lam's case made headlines in both places when it broke in December 1997.
Lam was arrested by police at CKS airport after coming to Taiwan from Hong Kong for the Golden Horse movie awards.
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