The Taiwan High Court said it would hold a hearing on Wednesday at the earliest on whether to keep former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in detention.
Chen’s current term of detention expires on Friday.
The courts are in the process of moving Chen’s corruption and money-laundering case from the district court, where the first verdict was passed down by judges in Judge Tsai Shou-hsun’s (蔡守訓) courtroom, to the Taiwan High Court for an appeals process.
The High Court will assign judges for the appeals through a random drawing this week. With the exception of four judges who are due to retire or seriously ill, all 86 high court judges are required to participate in the drawing.
The selection process will be closely watched because the Council of Grand Justices has yet to announce their interpretation on the constitutionality of switching of judges in Chen’s case.
A panel of judges ordered last December that Judge Chou Chan-chun (周占春) be replaced by Tsai in the trial of Chen and 12 codefendants. The change prompted complaints of procedural flaws and political interference.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Special Investigation Panel (SIP) said on Friday that it had submitted its appeal of the sentences given to Chen, his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), his son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), Wu’s friend Tsai Ming-che (蔡銘哲), former first family bookkeeper Chen Chen-hui (陳鎮慧) and contractor Kuo Chuan-ching (郭銓慶).
In their appeal, prosecutors said the sentences of some of the defendants were disproportionate to their involvement in the crimes, and that certain money-laundering crimes should be ruled on independently instead of including them as part of the corruption case.
The Taipei District Court found Chen Shui-bian, his wife and 11 codefendants guilty on Sept. 11 and sentenced the former president and his wife to life in prison and fines totaling NT$500 million (US$15.4 million).
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS