Two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday lashed out at the Taipei District Court for its decision to continue the trial of the "state affairs fund" case despite the Council of Grand Justices' ruling on executive privilege.
The council on June 15 confirmed the president's constitutional right to decide what constitutes a state secret and his right to refuse disclosure.
It also said the president enjoys immunity from criminal investigation and cannot be questioned by prosecutors while in office.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUN, TAIPEI TIMES
The Taipei District Court on Friday acknowledged that the case concerned national security elements, but added that it had decided the trial should proceed behind closed doors .
This leaves undecided President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) request on Thursday that the court return all materials seized by Prosecutor Eric Chen (陳瑞仁) during investigations into the case.
Calling the district court's decision to proceed with the trial"unconstitutional," DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui (
"What we are worried about is that the three judges in charge of the case might have already formed certain opinions against the defendants upon receiving such a big case," DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (
People First Party Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
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