All the defendants in the Zanadau Development scandal yesterday denied the charges against them during the first hearing in the case, held at Taipei District Court.
One of them, Su Hui-chen (
"I do not understand why I have been indicted for paying kickbacks to those who promised me that they would help my company. I should be a victim in the case because it turns out that I paid for nothing," Su said to reporters after the hearing.
The two-hour preparatory hearing, for the purpose of establishing dates for future hearings and affirming evidence and the details of the indictments began at 9:30am yesterday and was hosted by Judge Hu Hung-wen (
Taipei Chief Prosecutor Lin Jinn-tsun (
They are Su, Lawson Corp president Lee Ming-che (
Su is charged with violations of the Securities Exchange Law (
Lee Ming-che is charged with corruption, forgery and breach of trust. Prosecutors demanded a 12-year sentence for him, alleging he was the broker behind the scandal.
Hsieh has been charged with corruption and faces a possible 14-year sentence for allegedly using Taiwan Fertilizer's money to buy Zanadau stocks and receiving bribes from Su.
Yu Chen is charged with violation of the Securities Exchange Law and breach of trust for allegedly manipulating Zanadau's stocks as the company's president in 1998.v
Wong is charged with corruption and faces a possible nine-year sentence for allegedly receiving NT$25 million as a bribe from Su.
Lin is charged with corruption with a recommended seven-year sentence for helping Su to secure a license for the construction of Zanadau's 12-hectare Tahu Commercial Zone (
Lee Ming-se is charged with breach of trust with a suggested four-year sentence. He allegedly helped Su gain financing from the bank, although Su had a poor credit history and was not qualified for the mortgage.
Mu, Huang and Fan are charged with forgery.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
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