Fugitive Wang could appeal MOFA decision

Fugitive murder suspect Andrew Wang (汪傳浦) is entitled to file an administrative appeal should he claim his rights or legal interests have been violated by an unlawful administrative action, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

Following the ministry's decision on Wednesday to revoke the issuing of authentication of a certificate of appointment to Wang, a copy of the decision will be mailed to him by registered mail with advice of receipt today, ministry spokesman Richard Shih (石瑞琦) said.

Advice of receipt is designed to provide mailers with the actual signature of the addressee.

Taipei's representative office in London, which issued the document to Wang on Feb. 5, will send a copy of the decision to the address indicated in Wang's application documents, Shih said.

If Wang objects to this decision and is unwilling to accept it as final, Shih said, he is entitled to file an appeal against the decision to the High Administrative Court through the ministry.

Regulations in the Law of Administrative Appeal (訴願法) stipulate that any person who claims his or her rights or legal interests have been violated due to an unlawful administrative action taken by a government agency may institute administrative proceedings before the High Administrative Court.

According to the law, Wang should file his appeal within 30 days of receiving the copy of the decision by the ministry, Shih said.

Regulations stipulate that three judges try cases before a High Administrative Court. Appeals may be filed with the Supreme Administrative Court for review by a five-judge panel. The High Administrative Court decides questions of both fact and law, while the Supreme Administrative Court decides only questions of law.

When asked about the progress of the investigation into Wang's whereabouts, Shih said that the ROC embassy in Dominican Republic is still looking into reports that the fugitive is traveling in that country on a Dominican passport.

Wang, through his lawyer, expressed disappointment with the ministry's decision on Wednesday.

The decision came just one day after ministry officials said the issuing of documents by representative offices in Geneva in July 2001 and then in London last month was legally justified. However, Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) said on Wednesday that the latest intelligence showed that the issuing of the document may violate national interests.

Chien met with National Security Council Secretary-General Kang Ning-ksiung (康寧祥) for talks yesterday morning at the ministry, although Kang claimed the one-hour conversation was unrelated to the Lafayette frigate scandal to which Wang has been linked.

Investigators suspect Wang received a large commission in 1991 after he played an instrumental role in securing an arms deal for the French company Thomson CSF -- now called Thales -- to build six Lafayette-class frigates for Taipei.

Wang, a former Thomson-CSF Taiwan agent, is suspected of being involved in the sale and is also wanted in connection with the death of navy Captain Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓), who had opposed the French contract.

An arrest warrant for Wang was issued in September 2000. He has not been seen in this country since shortly after the December 1993 murder of Yin.