The Prosecutors' Office of the Taiwan High Court has launched an investigation into Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun's (江炳坤) visit to China, during which he reached a 10-point agreement with Beijing officials, Prosecutor-General Wu Ying-chao (吳英昭) said yesterday.
"It is a criminal case, and politics should be involved," Wu told the legislature.
"Prosecutor Chu Chia-chi (
Minister of Justice Morley Shih (
An oral agreement in which a consensus is reached with a foreign country might constitute a violation of Article 113 of the Criminal Code, Shih said.
He said that, according to the law, an unauthorized person who secretly agrees with a foreign government or its agent on matters requiring the authorization of the government may be sent to jail for a minimum of seven years. The maximum sentence is life imprisonment.
Vice Minister of Justice Tang Jinn-chuan (
"According to Taiwan's current Constitution, Taiwan is a sovereign state, and China is another sovereign state. That makes China a foreign country," he said.
At the legislative session, People First Party Legislator Chou Hsi-wei (
"Prosecutors are investigating Chiang because he is the KMT's vice chairman. Politics must be involved," Chou said.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (
Wu replied that the law does not prohibit cross-strait agreements that have nothing to do with the government or politics.
Chu said yesterday that he is gathering information from several sources.
"It will take some time before I decide whether I will summon Chiang for questioning," he said.
Prosecutors began their investigation after Tainan City Councilor Siew Po-jen (
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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