The son of imprisoned former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday vowed to appeal a Taiwan High Court ruling on Thursday that found him guilty of helping his parents launder money they received as bribes for arranging bank mergers.
Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), who is presently doing community service in Greater Kaohsiung in lieu of a three-month prison sentence for perjury in a corruption charge that also involved his parents, said the High Court’s rulings were “absolutely unacceptable” to him and his family.
He said the funds channeled to his family during his father’s tenure were “political donations” and described the court’s sentences as politically motivated.
The High Court reversed a ruling by the Taipei District Court last year that acquitted Chen, his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), Chen Chih-chung and his wife, Huang Jui--ching (黃睿靚), of bribery and money laundering charges related to bank mergers that were part of a “second financial reform” initiative.
It sentenced the former president to 18 years and Wu to 11 years in prison and fined them NT$180 million (US$5.95 million) and NT$102 million respectively for taking bribes from financial conglomerates to help arrange favorable mergers during Chen’s tenure as president between 2000 and 2008.
They were also ordered to return the NT$500 million they allegedly received in bribes to the national coffers. In the same ruling, the court sentenced Chen Chih-chung to one year in jail and fined him NT$4 million and gave Huang a six-month sentence and a NT$2 million fine for their parts in helping hide and move the money.
The former president’s son, who announced his intention to run for a seat in the legislature on Sept. 1, two weeks after he was stripped of his post on Greater Kaohsiung Council because of his perjury conviction, called for voters to make the right choice when voting for a new president on Jan. 14.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
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