The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday denounced a report alleging that former first lady Tseng Wen-hui (
"It's impossible for her to possess three passports at the same time. This allegation is totally wrong," Chan Hsien-ching (詹憲卿), director-general of the ministry's Bureau of Consular Affairs, told the Taipei Times.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday began an investigative hearing into a slander case being contested by Tseng and three New Party members.
In April, Tseng filed an appeal at the Taiwan High Court following a slander case against former New Party legislators Elmer Feng (
The three New Party members filed a lawsuit against Tseng after the 2000 presidential election, accusing her of "trying to flee to New York with US$85 million in cash stuffed into 54 suitcases."
At the original trial, Tseng said she had only one valid passport at the time she was alleged to have tried to fly to New York.
The court asked the bureau for details of all passports Tseng had held.
A report in a Chinese-language newspaper said the court had a written document from the foreign ministry that said Tseng, at the time of the presidential election, held three passports.
Two standard passports were issued on June 21, 1994 and Jan. 4, 1995, the report said. She also possessed a diplomatic passport, which was issued on June 22, 1996, it said.
But according to the bureau files, "She has had four passports in the past. But she hasn't held them concurrently," Chan said.
"According to passport regulations, once a citizen applies for a new passport for whatever reason, one corner on the old one would be cut, rendering it null and void even if its expiry date had not passed," Chan said.
A foreign ministry press release also denied the newspaper report.
The Taiwan High Court is still considering both sides' appeals.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS