Pro-localization groups yesterday accused prosecutors of not taking the necessary steps to prosecute former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for his suspected role in the Taipei Dome project and a classified information leak, demanding that they take action immediately.
A coalition of groups, including Taiwan Forever Association, Northern Taiwan Society and Taiwan Association of University Professors, held a news conference in front of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office building, accusing the agency and the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office of ignoring three criminal lawsuits the groups have filed against Ma.
Lawyer Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said that Ma, when serving as Taipei mayor, was suspected of helping Farglory Group (遠雄集團), the contractor for the Taipei Dome, secure profits by agreeing to waive royalty fees for land use.
Photo: CNA
“The royalty waiver was allegedly negotiated under the table between Ma and [Farglory founder] Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄), which could be proved with negotiation recordings provided by [former Taipei finance commissioner] Lee Sush-der (李述德). Such incriminating evidence is rarely found in corruption cases, but prosecutors ignored the evidence and failed to launch an investigation,” lawyer Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文龍) said.
Another lawsuit focuses on Ma’s role in a classified information leak in 2013, which involved wiretapping of telephone conversations of former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
Former prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) leaked details of the conversation to Ma, which led to Huang Shih-ming’s conviction last year, but prosecutors did not investigate Ma’s alleged role in instigating Huang Shih-ming to leak the information.
Ma was also implicated in a lawsuit that accused him of unexplained increases in personal wealth during his time as president.
The SID, which received the Taipei Dome lawsuit, transferred the case to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, but the office did not launch investigations into the cases, the groups said.
“We are here to issue a formal condemnation of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, whose failure to launch an investigation has significantly harmed the public’s trust in the judiciary. Such an apparent attempt to protect Ma from prosecution is the reason more than 80 percent of the public do not trust prosecutors,” Huang Di-ying said.
“Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san [邱太三] should toughen up rather than allowing Ma to travel to Hong Kong, which I believe is an attempt to test the possibility of absconding,” Cheng said.
A travel restriction should be imposed on Ma, who is planning to visit Hong Kong on Wednesday next week, they said.
Youth Against Oppression in Taiwan deputy secretary-general Lin Chia-yu (林家宇) said the SID becomes a “no investigation division” when it comes to accusations involving Ma, compared with its handling of cases involving former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office and Agency Against Corruption are investigating the cases.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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