Prosecutors said yesterday they would summon former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) for questioning about his suspected role in the embezzlement and money-laundering scandal involving Chen Shui-bian.
Chen Shui-bian has said he believed prosecutors would summon Chen Chih-chung and his daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚) for questioning very quickly and then apply to the Taipei District Court to detain the couple.
He said prosecutors would then attempt to detain him following the couple, adding he and his family members were facing political persecution.
Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南), spokesman for the Special Investigation Panel of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, said yesterday that he hoped the public would suspend criticism of the prosecutors before their entire case is made.
But Chen Yun-nan said that prosecutors would interview Chen Chih-chung and Huang Jui-ching soon.
After having testimonies from suspects and witnesses in the case, prosecutors were learning whether or not Chen Chih-chung and Huang Jui-ching knew the details involved in opening bank accounts overseas and joined the alleged money laundering, the spokesman said.
The Taipei District Court has detained five suspects in the case — Wu Ching-mao (吳景茂), the brother of former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), a close aide of Chen Shui-bian, Lin Teh-hsun (林德訓), who was the director of Chen’s office from 2005 to early this year, Chen Chen-hui (陳鎮慧), the former cashier of the Presidential Office under Chen Shui-bian, and Tsai Ming-che (蔡銘哲), the brother of Tsai Mei-li (蔡美利), a college classmate of Wu Shu-jen.
Chen Shui-bian, Wu Shu-jen, Chen Chih-chung and Huang Jui-ching, and Tsai Ming-chieh (蔡銘杰), another brother of Tsai Mei-li have been barred from leaving the country.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,