Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has said he is willing to testify before the US Supreme Court in his capacity as the “former leader of the Republic of China (ROC) government in exile” to argue that it is illegal to consider Taiwanese as ROC citizens and that Washington is the “principal occupying power of Taiwan,” the founder of the Formosa Nation Legal Strategy Association, Roger Lin (林志昇), said yesterday.
Lin said Chen had signed an affidavit in support of a writ of certiorari, an order by a higher court directing a lower court to send a record in a given case for review.
Chen’s office yesterday confirmed Lin’s claim, saying that the former president had signed the declaration and was happy to testify in person in a US court.
It is uncertain, however, whether Chen will be able to do so because he has been in custody since December last year.
Chen is suspected of money laundering, accepting bribes, forgery and embezzling NT$15 million (US$450,000) during his presidency.
He and his wife are accused of accepting bribes in connection with a land procurement deal, as well as kickbacks to help a contractor win a tender for a government construction project.
In the affidavit, written in English, Chen, who described himself as the “former president of the ROC government in exile,” said that the US has been the “principal occupying power” of Taiwan.
He said in the affidavit that Washington has considered him the head of the “Taiwan governing authorities.”
“Based on this rationale, during my term of office, I accepted the instructions of the Chairmen of the American Institute in Taiwan on many occasions, even when their instructions interfered with my Presidential decision making,” he said in the statement.
He said he would like to clarify in court the relationship between “the people of Taiwan (not the ‘exiled Chinese’ on Taiwan) and the United States, and the rights of the native Taiwanese people to hold same form of US-issued travel documents.”
Chen argued that it was illegal under US law for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue ROC passports to native Taiwanese persons.
The current policies that coerce native Taiwanese persons to hold ROC passports also constitutes a serious violation of their dignity, he said in the affidavit.
Lin petitioned at a US District Court in October 2006 to rule on the nationality of the people on Taiwan.
The court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter under the political question doctrine.
On appeal, Lin argued that the US was Taiwan’s “principal occupying power,” effectively giving the US temporary de jure sovereignty.
When permanent sovereignty is ultimately decided, Lin said the de jure sovereignty of the US will then cease.
The Court of Appeals upheld the District Court’s ruling that deciding sovereignty is a political task rather than a judicial question.
As the executive branch of the US government has remained silent on this issue, the court said, it could not intrude on its decision.
Lin appealed to the US Supreme Court on July 8 and, according to him, the court will hold a hearing on whether to accept the appeal on Sept. 29.
Lin yesterday said he was confident the court would rule in his favor.
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