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.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard