First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) chairman Jerome Chen (陳建隆) was indicted yesterday for using bank resources in bank supervisor Charles Chiang's (江昭儀) DPP legislative primary election bid.
The Taipei District Prosecutors office charged Chen with breach of trust and recommended that the court announce its verdict in summary procedure, calling Chen's confession during its investigation and other evidence sufficient for the court to render a guilty verdict.
The prosecution said that during the investigation Chen agreed to accept a penalty of less than 50 days in prison and a fine of NT$578,000 -- the sum of money he misused -- without a suspension of his sentence.
The scandal was revealed by PFP legislator Chen Chao-jung (
Chiang was to run in February's DPP legislative primary in Changhua County. In a bid to help Chiang win the election, Chen, in his capacity as bank chairman, sent letters to the bank's clients in the county, asking them to vote for Chiang.
According to the indictment, Chen ordered the printing of the 126,486 letters, which cost NT$110,000. The address labels on the envelops were estimated to cost NT$25,297 and postage for the letters came to NT$442,701, all financed with bank funds.
The prosecutors said Chen misused bank resources to carry out affairs irrelevant to the business of the bank or his position as chairman.
The Ministry of Finance fined Chen NT$60,000 earlier this month for using confidential customer information to help Chiang's campaign bid. The ministry also asked Chen to return the money he misused. Chen earlier expressed repentance and said he would not misuse his post again.
Opposition party lawmakers have criticized Minister of Finance Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章) for allowing Chen to remain in his position as the bank's chairman.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS