The nation’s judicial agencies came under fresh public scrutiny yesterday, as petrochemical tycoon Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) reportedly fled overseas while the Supreme Court was processing a petition on his conviction for an insider trading offense.
It is the second time in the past few weeks a major white-collar crime felon eluded the law by fleeing Taiwan following the escape of convicted former prosecutor Ching Tien-po (井天博).
Chen, 73, is the founder of Taipei-based Ho Tung Chemical Corp (和桐化學) and is the honorary chairman of local manufacturing business association the Chinese National Federation of Industries. Chen is also a former chairman of the Petrochemical Industry Association of Taiwan.
He was found guilty of fraud, insider trading and manipulating the shares of the Tainan-based optoelectronic company HannsTouch Solution Inc (和鑫光電) and was sentenced to 30 months in prison by the Taiwan High Court, along with a fine of NT$2 million (US$60,596) in July.
Another business fraud case involving Chen, in which he allegedly joined Taiwan Youni Corp (台灣優力公司) to defraud eight Taiwanese banks through NT$1.8 billion in non-performing loans, is still being investigated. Chen had been awaiting the outcome of the trial, where prosecutors are seeking a sentence of at least seven years in prison for breaching the Banking Act (銀行法).
It was reported this week that Chen had fled across the Taiwan Strait on a fishing boat sometime in October, first heading to Kinmen Island, then taking another boat to a coastal city in China’s Fujian Province.
Chen filed a petition in August against the High Court’s guilty verdict, pleading to serve his sentence in a Hsinchu-area prison, where Chen had registered his new residence, instead of a Taipei-area prison.
After the High Court rejected his petition, Chen appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled to reject his petition on Dec. 1.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office issued a statement yesterday saying that they did not receive the Supreme Court’s rejection decision and therefore they did not take Chen into custody to start serving his prison term.
The statement said that the court did not notify prosecutors regarding the new situation of Chen’s case and therefore no officers were assigned to monitor his movements or take him into custody.
Media reports said that Chen’s flight was aimed at evading ruling on the NT$1.8 billion bank defraud case, where he was tipped off on a likely guilty verdict, which would carry a minimum seven-year prison term, and made plans to flee to China where he has several petrochemical business ventures.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the