A former judge and New Party legislator returned to Taiwan yesterday to face a three-month jail term stemming from defamation charges, having decided against paying an NT$81,000 fine that would have allowed her to avoid imprisonment.
Hsieh Chi-ta (
Hsieh, Feng and Tai had claimed that Tseng attempted to flee to New York after the 2000 presidential election with US$85 million in cash, but was turned back by customs officials.
PHOTO: TONY YAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Hsieh arrived at CKS International Airport on a flight from Beijing at 2:40pm yesterday and was immediately arrested as a wanted convict. The former New Party legislator had for 11 years been a judge at the Ilan District Court, Hsinchu District Court and the Taiwan High Court Hualien Branch.
After identification and a short interrogation at the airport, Hsieh was escorted to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office to begin her jail term. Because she arrived on a weekend, Hsieh was to be temporarily housed at the Taipei Detention House in Panchiao and transferred to the women's prison in Taoyuan today.
Hundreds of New Party members gathered at the airport around noon yesterday to show their support for Hsieh, despite her fugitive status. Hundreds of police officers were on hand to keep order, but no incidents were reported.
As Hsieh walked off the plane, two policewomen arrested her. Before they escorted her to the interrogation room she was allowed to read an announcement to the press.
Hsieh, accompanied by New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (
"What she did was a bad example to the public," said Cheng Chen-lung (
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS