The wife of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has been barred from leaving the country during her ongoing trial on corruption and forgery charges, a court official said yesterday.
“Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) has made public appearances — which were broadcast by the media — showing she was able to move around ... therefore we have decided to prevent her from leaving the country,” said Taipei District Court spokesman Liu Shou-sung (劉壽嵩).
Liu was referring to Wu’s visits to polling stations for parliamentary and presidential elections earlier this year.
The wheelchair-bound Wu collapsed in court in late 2006 at the start of her trial and has since been excused from all court sessions on health grounds.
Wu has pleaded not guilty to charges that she illegally claimed NT$14.8 million (US$450,000) in personal expenses from state funds.
Chen was also named a suspect in 2006 but escaped immediate prosecution because of presidential immunity. But prosecutors launched a corruption probe against Chen less than an hour after he lost his immunity on Tuesday when new President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office.
The former president has admitted using false receipts to claim money from the state, but insisted those funds were used for “secret diplomatic missions” and not for his personal benefit.
Prosecutors, however, allege at least US$1.5 million was spent on diamond rings and other luxury items for his wife.
Chen has repeatedly insisted that he and his family are innocent.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
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