The Control Yuan yesterday passed a motion to censure the Ministry of National Defense (MND) over its handling of a case involving former army captain Justin Lin (林毅夫), who defected to China in 1979.
The motion, proposed by Control Yuan members Yeh Yao-peng (葉耀鵬) and Chao Chang-ping (趙昌平), said the ministry had not taken action after Lin defected to China.
The Control Yuan said the MND could have tried Lin in absentia — who would have received the death penalty in accordance with martial law, which was in effect at the time — and issued a warrant for his arrest that would have been effective for 20 years.
Instead, the MND did nothing, first putting him on the wanted list in 2002 after someone took the matter to the judiciary. By that time, the case could no longer be prosecuted, the Control Yuan said.
Lin, who served as a captain in Kinmen, defected to China on May 16, 1979, allegedly swimming to Fujian Province.
He rose to become a top economic strategist for China and in February last year became the World Bank’s chief economist.
“The MND has been reserved and passive instead of seeking to act in such cases,” the Control Yuan said, adding that the MND’s handling of Lin’s case had damaged the military’s reputation.
The Control Yuan urged the MND to decide within two months how to deal with other cases of defections to China.
Lin’s defection occurred while he was on duty.
He has since said he swam to China because he was inspired by then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and wanted to improve the lives of the Chinese.
In 2002, then-minister of national defense Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) condemned Lin, saying his betrayal was inexcusable.
In a report Tang delivered at the legislature, he called Lin a traitor and said he should be brought to justice if he ever returned to Taiwan.
ADDITIONAL REPORITING BY STAFF WRITER
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS