The Ministry of Justice has asked the Taipei District Court and Taipei Bar Association to investigate whether former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) lawyer has violated the lawyer code of ethics by conveying his client’s messages to the outside world during Chen’s detention.
Claiming Cheng Wen-long’s (鄭文龍) statements have been political in nature and defamatory to the judiciary, the Ministry of Justice said on Monday night that it had sent a letter to the Taipei District Court and the Taipei Bar Association, asking if Cheng had violated the lawyer code of ethics.
The court said it would not begin an investigation until it received the letter. The bar association said a task force would be formed to conduct a probe after it receives the official notice.
PHOTO: SUN YOU-LIEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen’s office issued a statement yesterday condemning the ministry, saying its actions would deprive him of his right to litigation guaranteed by the Constitution.
Cheng has been updating the media about Chen’s condition since he was detained without charge on Nov. 12 and began a fast on Nov. 13 to protest “political persecution.”
Cheng also issued a 10-point statement on behalf of Chen denouncing the “death of the judiciary.”
Attorney Richard Lee (李勝琛) said yesterday that Cheng has not violated legal ethics because he has not divulged anything related to Chen’s legal case.
“The ministry might think that Chen, who is being held incommunicado, should not enjoy freedom of speech,” he said. “It is worth discussing whether it is necessary to be so hard on a former president who suspects his case is politically motivated.”
Chen is suspected of money laundering, accepting bribes, forgery and embezzling NT$15 million (US$450,000) during his presidency.
He has accused the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration of waging a “political vendetta” against him to curry favor with China.
The latest message Cheng passed on to the media was a poem Chen wrote to his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) and Cheng transcribed during his visit to Chen on Monday.
In the poem, Chen described his political thoughts and his feelings for his wife, including regrets over his failure to listen to her.
Chen has said before that Wu tried to talk him out pursuing a political career.
Wu was indicted in November 2006 on corruption and forgery charges in connection with the use of Chen’s presidential “state affairs fund.” Chen was declared a defendant in the case shortly after he left office on May 20, when his presidential immunity expired.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsao Erh-chang (曹爾忠) suggested yesterday that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) consider granting an amnesty to Chen and sending him into exile if Chen admits guilt.
Tsao said Ma should consider pardoning and exiling Chen and his family if and only if the court finds Chen guilty, and Chen pleads guilty and returns the money he allegedly embezzled to the treasury.
Tsao said his proposal was aimed at maintaining social harmony.
“Society has paid a high price for [concentrating on the alleged corruption of] the former first family,” Tsao said.
When approached for comment, KMT caucus secretary-general Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) said the caucus would not discuss the idea until the court convicts Chen.
However, several KMT legislators spoke out yesterday against an amnesty.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said it was unlikely Tsao’s preconditions would be met.
Wu said both pan-blue and pan-green supporters should focus on the judicial investigation into Chen.
KMT Legislator Wu Ching-chih (吳清池) said it was too early for the public to discuss an amnesty.
KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said: “Whoever proposed this idea must be out of his mind.”
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater