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DPP to reveal plan to assist former president Chen

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will soon release a plan to assist former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) with his ongoing court case, a party official said yesterday.

Chen has been held at the Taipei Detention Center since Dec. 30 on charges of money laundering, embezzlement and corruption. He was indicted on Dec. 12 and charged with illegally receiving or embezzling NT$490 million (US$15 million). He has repeatedly denied the charges and denounced his trial as political persecution.

DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on Friday that the Taipei District Court’s extension of Chen’s detention violated his judicial rights. To protect his rights, the party had reached a consensus to come up with a plan to help Chen, Tsai said, adding it was mainly aimed at securing his immediate release.

DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said yesterday that on May 6 the party passed a resolution during a Central Standing Committee meeting that the party to request the court to release Chen immediately.

Cheng said the plan could consist of a signature drive or assembling lawyers to assist Chen.

A final decision had yet to be made, he said.

Cheng said Chen was treated unfairly during the judicial process, saying the judiciary violated a gag order during the investigation by leaking information from the investigation to the media, and that the Taipei District Court changed judges during the trial.

There were no judicial reasons to detain Chen during the trial, he said.

In other developments, despite Chen’s retraction of all requests to call witnesses, the district court said it would still summon Chen’s mother-in-law to testify in court this week.

Prosecutors had requested that the court summon Wu Wang Hsia (吳王霞), the mother of former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), to clarify whether Wu Shu-jen had used her mother’s account to transfer money and to determine how much the former first couple knew about such money transfers.

Chen had previously pleaded to the judge not to call his mother-in-law, saying she was more than 80 years old and was showing signs of dementia.

He has also retracted all requests to call remaining witnesses as part of his protest against what he calls an unfair judicial system.

However, Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓), who has the authority to decide whether to call certain witnesses in spite of Chen’s refusal, has ruled to call Wu Wu Wang Hsia.

She is scheduled to appear at the Taipei District Court on Thursday, when Chen will be represented by his two court-appointed attorneys, Tseng Te-rong (曾德榮) and Tang Chen-chi (唐禎祺).

Other members of the former first family to appear in court this week include Chen’s daughter Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤), her brother Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) and her husband Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘). They will be questioned on perjury charges.

Prosecutors said they would arrange for extra police to maintain order when Chen Hsing-yu appears in court. The former first daughter is known for often being accompanied by large groups of people who act as her “bodyguards” to prevent her from being harassed.
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