The Control Yuan yesterday rejected a motion to impeach State Public Prosecutor-General Chen Tsung-ming (陳聰明) over his alleged mishandling of the case against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) by a vote of 6-6.
Control Yuan members Chien Lin Whei-jun (錢林慧君) and Lee Ful-dien (李復甸), in charge of an investigation into Chen Tsung-ming after he was accused of “dereliction of duty,” yesterday proposed impeaching the top prosecutor.
Based on their investigations, the two Control Yuan members said that Chen Tsung-ming had violated the Civil Servants Work Act (公務員服務法) and the Prosecutors Code (檢察官守則).
They accused him of failing to prohibit the first family’s physician Huang Fang-yen (黃芳彥), who prosecutors allege played a role in corruption by the former first family, from leaving the country.
Huang went to the US in 2008 and has been on a wanted list since March.
Chien Lin and Lee said Chen Tsung-ming had often met people involved in Chen Shui-bian’s cases, including Tsai Chu-hsiung (蔡竹雄), a construction magnate and owner of the Polaris Garden Plaza, the first family’s former residence.
The Control Yuan members described Chen Tsung-ming’s meeting with these parties as “inappropriate” and said that he “lacked awareness” of Huang’s plan to leave.
Hung Te-hsuan (洪德旋), another Control Yuan member who jointly investigated the matter, disagreed with Chien Lin and Lee.
Hung said that the Control Yuan did not find solid evidence to prove that Huang fled to the US because Chen Tsung-ming had divulged information to him.
“We are still looking into the matter,” Hung told reporters.
Chen Tsung-ming has denied all the accusations, which were mainly raised by the Chinese Nationalist Party Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅).
‘FRIENDSHIP FLEET’: A CGA official is scheduled to meet with the president of the Pacific nation, while one of the ships is to host a banquet and National Day event Two Coast Guard Administration (CGA) patrol vessels have docked at Malakal Harbor in Palau as part of an expedition exercise and diplomatic visit, during which a senior official is expected to meet with Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr, the agency said yesterday. The two vessels, the 4,000-tonne-class Chiayi and the 1,000-tonne-class Penghu, set sail for Palau from Taiwan last week and arrived on Tuesday at Malakal Harbor, the CGA’s Fleet Branch said in a statement. The journey marks the second time the CGA has dispatched a “friendship fleet” to another country, after it sent its first-ever goodwill fleet, comprising the Hualien and
A patrol vessel donated by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to the Philippines was commissioned into the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday, a Philippine non-governmental organization said. The CGA on Sept. 16 confirmed media reports that Taiwan had donated a retired 500-tonne patrol vessel to the Philippines. The Manila-based We Protect Our Seas (WPS) foundation, which served as an intermediary in the transfer, said that the vessel was formerly the CGA’s 500-tonne petrol vessel Kinmen (CG123). The WPS, in a statement issued on Friday, said the vessel, renamed as the BRP Sarangani, had been commissioned into the PCG the
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) today said that two of its patrol vessels have docked at Palau's Malakal Harbor as part of an expedition exercise and diplomatic visit, during which a senior official is expected to meet with the Palauan president. The two vessels, the 4,000-tonne-class Chiayi (嘉義) and the 1,000-tonne-class Penghu (澎湖), set sail for Palau from Taiwan last week and arrived at Malakal Harbor yesterday, the CGA's Fleet Branch said in a statement. The journey marked the second time the CGA has dispatched a "Friendship Fleet" to another country, after it sent its first-ever goodwill fleet, comprising the Hualien (花蓮)
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: Beijing sent two China Coast Guard vessels to escort a ‘supposedly private research ship,’ a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman said The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday confirmed that it had recently deployed three patrol vessels to waters in Taiwan’s overlapping exclusive economic zone with the Philippines to monitor three Chinese vessels. CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said the agency regularly monitors Chinese vessels around Taiwan, and that the deployment south of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, was carried out in accordance with standard procedures. He added that the waters fall within the overlapping exclusive economic zones of Taiwan and the Philippines, which extend 200 nautical miles (370km) from their coastlines. Hsieh made the comments when asked about a