Former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) mother made a plea for her son’s release yesterday, one day before the Taiwan High Court is expected to decide whether to continue his detention.
Attending a funeral for the former president’s uncle in Tainan, Chen Lee Shen (陳李慎) said: “My son did nothing wrong. Why has he been detained so long?”
“As a mother, I feel deeply sad. I cannot eat during the day and cannot sleep at night,” she said.
PHOTO: CNA
Chen Shui-bian has been detained for more than 500 days and his current term of detention is scheduled to end on April 23.
Teng Chen-chiu (鄧振球), the presiding judge in the case, said during Friday’s hearing that the court intended to make a decision today.
Teng had said the Chen family would have to remit NT$700 million (US$21 million) to a designated account if the former president were to have any chance of being released on bail.
Chen’s son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), said of the judge’s remark that he and his family had done everything they could to have the money from his family’s Swiss bank accounts remitted to Taiwan and that it was up to the Special Investigation Panel (SIP) to decide when the transfer would take place.
The Taiwan High Court has announced it will deliver a verdict for the second trial on June 11.
The Taipei District Court sentenced Chen Shui-bian and his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) to life in prison in September after handing down a guilty verdict in the first trial against the former first couple and 11 others.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
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A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
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