A Christian service was held yesterday for navy Captain Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓), who was killed 14 years ago in a murder associated with the Lafayette frigate procurement scandal, with his family hoping the nation will uncover the truth behind the murder.
"President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) promised to find out the truth behind the murder and the Lafayette scandal, and my family hopes President Chen will work hard on this matter during the remaining months of his tenure," Yin Ching-feng's widow, Li Mei-kuei (李美葵), said yesterday at the ceremony.
Following Yin's death in late 1993, Li and Yin's father, Yin Duo (尹鐸), traveled the country collecting information to try to solve the mystery of Yin's death, but to no avail.
Li said she stopped the probe seven years ago and now believes that God can help the family find out the truth and bring justice.
The Christian ceremony was held in a church in Taipei yesterday morning.
Yin's body was found floating along the coast near Suao (蘇澳) on Dec. 10, 1993, by fishermen and his body was buried in Kaohsiung County after the completion of an autopsy.
Yin's family had hoped to arrange a cremation and for his ashes to be kept in a Taipei cemetery, but the special investigation panel in charge of the case refused because the investigation into the case was still ongoing.
Yin's family yesterday were finally able to bring Yin's ashes in a urn up to Taipei and settle them in a columbarium.
Yin's murder, thought to be associated with the Lafayette frigate procurement scandal, remains unsolved after 14 years. Yin is widely believed to have been about to blow the whistle on colleagues who were taking kickbacks from the deal.
The government's original plan in 1988 was to purchase South Korean-made frigates, but then decided in 1990 to purchase the French-made Lafayette frigates instead.
Several naval officials were indicted for their involvement in the case, but prosecutors were still unable to discover who the mastermind behind the arms deal was and who else had received kickbacks.
Andrew Wang (汪傳浦) -- a key suspect in the kickback scandal -- fled the country following Yin's murder.
All of Wang and his family's bank accounts have since been frozen by the Swiss Federal Court.
Wang was indicted by prosectors in absentia on charges of murder, corruption, money laundering and fraud.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that