Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (
Chiu displayed a document he claimed proved his allegation in a press conference. But the name of the applicant was spelt in pseudo Hanyu pinyin as "Zhi Zhong Chen" rather than "Chen Chih-chung", the spelling of his name in Tong-yong pinyin favored by most Taiwanese use.
"Chen Chih-chung left his fingerprint on the form. That is his center finger," Chiu said.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The document Chiu displayed was a completed "I-797 C Notice of Action" issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security.
The document, dated Oct. 24, 2005, required the applicant "Zhi Zhong Chen" to go to the USCIS's office located in the city of El Monte in California Nov. 30, 2005 at 12pm to have his fingerprints and biometrics taken.
"The lawyer entrusted by Chen Chih-chung to process the application had left his name and address on the form, but my informant blacked out the information before giving it to me," he said.
Chiu said he knew the lawyer's identity.
"His surname is Chien (
Since the application was filed at the USCIS about one year ago, Chen Chih-chung should have obtained or is about to obtain his US green card, Chiu said.
Chiu added that the "Form I-797" was used to apply for "Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Resident or Adjust Status," the last stage of applying for a US green card.
"If Chen had already received the green card, he is not allowed to leave the US for a period of three years. If he does leave, he has to obtain `Form I-131,' which is difficult to get, to ensure his return to the US. That's why Chen Chih-chung is reluctant to come back to Taiwan at the moment," Chiu said.
Chiu claimed he had the attachments of the "Form I-797 C" in his possession, which would show Chen Chih-chung's investment in Tawa Supermarket in the US, and remittance transactions associated with the investment from Taiwan to the US.
Chiu, however, didn't disclose the attachments in the press conference, noting that he is considering disclosing Chen Chih-chung's social security number and a copy of his passport later on.
After reporters sought clarification, Chiu directly claimed Chen Chih-chung had put money into the Tawa Supermarket so that he could apply for US citizenship as an immigrant investor.
According to a news clip broadcast by SETTV yesterday, the supermarket would hold a press conference today to dismiss Chiu's accusation on the account.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Charles Chiang (
Chen Chih-chung's lawyer filed a lawsuit against Chiu and sought NT$100 million in compensation.
Lin Chih-hao (
Describing Chiu's allegations as "pure speculation" and "deliberate defamation," Lin said Chiu is an individual who "habitually makes random and unfounded accusations against others and refuses to clean up his act."
"We will continue to take legal action against Chiu every time he makes a false allegation against my client," he said. "We will ask prosecutors to take into account every false accusation Chiu makes against my client and increase the penalty."
Chen Chih-chung also issued a statement from the US via his lawyer's office, dismissing Chiu's allegations as "groundless."
He said he has never applied for US citizenship nor owned a second passport issued by a third country. Neither did he invest in 99 Ranch Market as Chiu claimed.
He said he is staying in the US on a student visa and is doing the optional practical training (OPT) for a law firm with an employment authorization card.
He said that the Romanization of his name was "Chen Chih-chung" not "Zhi Zhong Chen" as Chiu alleged.
Finally, he said he knew but had not had dealings with Mrs Tu -- a real estate agent that who Chiu alleged helped Chen invest in the US.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
RSS