Chinese dissident Wang Dan (王丹) yesterday rejected a report by the Central News Agency (CNA) that said he has admitted receiving US$400,000 in subsidies from former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
CNA reported that during a Taiwan High Court hearing on Friday conducted behind closed doors, Wang admitted that he received US$400,000 in subsidies from Chen when he was in power between 2000 and 2008.
In a statement posted on his Facebook page yesterday, Wang said the content of the CNA report was untrue and that he was not approached for verification of the material.
Wang said because his comments at the closed-door hearing pertained to national security and should not be made public, he would not elaborate on what he had said in court.
Wang added that to express his protest against the news agency, he would not hold interviews with CNA until it offers an apology.
Friday’s court hearing was held as part of the judicial process investigating Chen and his family for allegedly embezzling money from the state affairs fund, the news report said.
Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), were accused of embezzling more than NT$100 million (US$3.45 million) from the fund when Chen was in office.
Chen has argued that parts of the fund were used to finance Chinese activists, including Wang, in his effort to spread democracy to China.
Chen had asked the court to summon Wang and former minister of foreign affairs James Huang (黃志芳) to testify at the hearing.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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