In a random draw yesterday, the Taipei District Court selected Judge Chou Chan-chun (周占春) to preside over legal proceedings for the fourth round of indictments issued against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and others.
Chou was the judge who previously ordered Chen’s release from detention. However, last December, a panel of judges replaced Chou with Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓). The change at the time prompted allegations of procedural flaws and political interference.
Chen’s office then petitioned the Council of Grand Justices for an interpretation on whether the switch of judges was constitutional. The council ruled that the switch did not violate the Constitution.
Tsai repeatedly ruled to keep Chen in detention, and on Sept. 11 sentenced him and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), to life in prison, as well as a total fine of NT$500 million (US$15.5 million).
Because of the prior controversy surrounding the switching of judges, the Taiwan High Court and the Taipei District Court has recently begun manually drawing the names of judges in front of the media to emphasize that the process is transparent and random. Before the incident, the courts used a computer to randomly select judges without media in attendance.
Although Chou ruled to release Chen from prison, he no longer has the power to rule on whether to extend Chen’s detention because the decision is up to the Taiwan High Court, where corruption and embezzlement charges against the former president are undergoing a second round of legal proceedings.
There was a one-in-three chance of Chou being randomly selected to preside over charges issued by prosecutors last Thursday. The other two judges on the panel, also made through a draw of lots, are Lin Po-hung (林柏泓) and Ho Chiao-mei (何俏美).
The prosecutors’ indictment last Thursday said the former first couple took bribes totaling NT$610 million from the Cathay and Yuanta financial groups to facilitate the groups’ acquisitions of other Taiwanese banks to form new financial holding companies.
Others on the indictment list include Chen’s son, and daughter-in-law Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), his wife Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), Wu’s elder brother Wu Ching-mao (吳景茂), Wu Ching-mao’s wife, Chen Chun-ying (陳俊英), and Yuanta Group founder Rudy Ma (馬志玲).
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS