A team of six local lawyers recruited by the Straits Exchange Foundation to help eight China-based Taiwanese businesspeople arrested for espionage is scheduled to visit China with the detainees' families after the Lunar New Year.
"While only Chinese lawyers can represent Taiwanese clients in Chinese court rooms, what we and the team will do for the arrested businesspeople is to pay them a humanitarian visit, hire high-caliber Chinese lawyers and offer our professional knowledge both in law and cross-strait negotiations," Yen Wan-ching (
Yen made the remarks after meeting with six of the detainees' families along with the six lawyers.
Kenneth Chiu (邱晃泉), of Kew & Lord law firm, said that although the lawyers would be unable to offer any direct services to the arrested Taiwanese businesspeople, they could provide other forms of assistance such as appealing to the Chinese government for humanitarian treatment.
According to Hanson Chiang (姜志俊) of the Hanson Law Office, the arrested Taiwanese businesspeople face jail terms of between six months and five years if convicted.
"Although the matter is still in the investigation stage and has not yet become a legal case, we have to act now and act fast," Chiang said.
As the mission of the team is to bring back the eight arrested Taiwanese businesspeople, Koo said that they will offer their utmost professional assistance to their Chinese counterparts.
"We'll not only work with them but also negotiate with and oversee what they do for our clients," he said.?
The other lawyers are: Fuldien Li (李復甸) of Li & Partners; Wellington Koo (顧立雄) of Formosa Transnational; Sunny Chang (張耿銘) of Horwath & Partners and Chian-feng (魏千峰), an attorney at law and the chairman of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white