Gloria Chu (朱婉清), former chairwoman of the Central Broadcasting System (CBS, 中央廣播電台), did not attend the opening of her embezzlement trial yesterday, but her lawyer said she would be present at the next hearing, scheduled in April.
The Taipei District Court had been scheduled yesterday to hear the case, in which Chu is charged with having misappropriated about NT$1.4 million from a special CBS fund in order to decorate her house.
However, her defense lawyer said Chu, currently in the US, was wary of the prosecution's previous order preventing her from leaving Taiwan and was afraid that she would not be allowed to go overseas if she returns.
However, the judge noted the prosecution dropped its order early in January when it filed an indictment against Chu.
Chu's lawyer then said she would come back to Taiwan to attend the next hearing, as the order has been dismissed.
On Oct. 12 last year, just a few hours after posting NT$500,000 bail and agreeing not to leave the country, Chu boarded an EVA Airways flight to Los Angeles. Although prosecutors in Taipei immediately contacted US immigration authorities, Chu was granted provisional entry to the US on Oct. 14, after 12 hours of questioning by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Los Angeles.
On Oct. 27, to the surprise of Taipei prosecutors and the local media, Chu had an interview with US immigration authorities and was granted a green card, under a priority immigration scheme for talented and outstanding individuals.
According to US immigration officials, there were no grounds to deny Chu's application since she had not yet been convicted of any crime.
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