Former KMT legislator Diane Lee (李慶安) made her first court appearance yesterday at Taipei District Court on charges that she defrauded the government of more than NT$100 million (US$3 million) in wages and benefits.
Lee admitted for the first time to possessing dual-citizenship from the US but pleaded not guilty to the charges of fraud and forgery.
Because both Lee’s husband and children reside in the US, the court affirmed the prosecutor’s decision to restrict her from leaving the country.
Earlier reports have shown that she co-owns a house in Maryland with her husband, who is a US citizen.
Lee left the court with her lawyer, who in a statement said that she was apologetic and concerned for the public.
Lee declined to comment.
She faces up to eight years in prison if found guilty.
Allegations of dual citizenship first surfaced after Next Magazine reported in March last year that Lee still possessed a valid US passport. In January, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office received official confirmation from the US Department of State that Lee’s US citizenship was valid.
The Nationality Act (國籍法) prohibits government officials from holding dual citizenship and requires that those who are dual citizens give up foreign citizenship before assuming office.
Lee resigned from the KMT in December last year and left her legislative post early this year. The Central Election Committee subsequently revoked her election certificates dating back to her service as a Taipei City legislator.
It has been claimed that because of her previous ineligibility to work as a public employee, the wages and benefits she accrued over 10 years in her posts as a Taipei City councilor and a legislator were illegally obtained.
The legislature has promised that if Lee is found guilty, it will start proceedings to recover the wages.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS