The Taipei District Court yesterday asked a number of current and former officials with the Pres-idential Office to appear in court as witnesses in next week's hearing on the "state affairs fund" case.
The court asked the officials to appear following a request by Prosecutor Chang Hsi-huai (張熙懷), one of the prosecutors in the "state affairs fund" case, in which first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) and three former Presidential Office aides -- deputy secretary-general Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成), secretariat director Lin Te-hsun (林德訓) and treasurer Chen Cheng-hui (陳鎮慧) -- were indicted on charges of corruption for allegedly embezzling NT$14.8 million (US$449,600) from the fund.
Chang asked the court to summon Presidential Secretary-General Mark Chen (
While Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (
Chang said prosecutors made the request because the Presidential Office refused to produce certain documents on the six diplomatic projects relating to the "state affairs fund" case after the court twice sent letters asking the Presidential Office to hand over the documents.
In both cases, the Presidential Office replied to the court that turning over the documents was a matter for the president himself to decide, not the Presidential Office.
Three lots of documents were sealed by Prosecutor Eric Chen (
The court has been attempting to clarify whether the diplomatic projects had been approved and later placed under the protection of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (
Chang also asked the court to summon doctors from National Taiwan University Hospital who are in charge of Wu's medical treatments, and asked for all of Wu's medical records from July to the present.
"We need thorough information about Wu's health condition to determine whether she is fit to appear at the hearing and what medical arrangements the court needs to prepare if she is in attendance," Chang said.
Attorney Yang Feng-wan (楊芳婉) argued that prosecutors should respect medical professionals.
In the end, Tsai said that the court had not decided whether to grant the prosecutors' requests in Wu's case.
Wu was absent from yesterday's hearing.
She has missed three hearings since falling ill during the court's first hearing on Dec. 15.
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
RSS