A judicial reform association yesterday said the Ministry of National Defense had made progress in pursuing charges against former minister of national defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) and five others who were implicated in the wrongful execution of airman Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶) 15 years ago.
The Judicial Reform Foundation had expressed its doubts about the ministry’s commitment after the first hearing at the Taipei District Court in September, saying the ministry had been “passive” in pursuing the case, adding that if it did not proceed with the civil lawsuit, taxpayers would end up footing the bill for the compensation to Chiang’s family.
The ministry is seeking NT$14.75 million (US$500,000) in total compensation from the six.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
During the second hearing at the Taipei District Court yesterday morning, Colonel Chen Chao-yun (陳招雲), head of the Northern Military District Court, represented the ministry.
Judicial Reform Foundation executive director Lin Feng-cheng (林峰正), who audited the process, said after the hearing that while the ministry’s representatives had made some progress in the lawsuit, there was still a lot of room for improvement.
Chiang was convicted of raping and killing a five-year-old girl at Air Force Combat Command in Taipei in 1996 and was executed a year later at the age of 21. Chen Chao-min was the chief of Air Force Combat Command at the time of Chiang’s conviction.
However, in September last year, Chiang’s conviction and execution were determined to have rested on a coerced confession, with at least six officials found to have tortured him.
The following month, the Northern Military District Court awarded NT$103 million in compensation to Chiang’s mother, Wang Tsai-lien (王彩蓮).
The military court had concluded that the six officials committed major mistakes in the case.
The ministry filed a lawsuit after the six refused to reimburse the court for the compensation awarded to the victim’s family.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
RSS