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 receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it