The Taipei District Court decided yesterday to speed up the "state affairs fund" case by announcing that documents concerning diplomatic projects will be opened by Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the judge, Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓), yesterday fined Presidential Secretary-General Mark Chen (陳唐山) and four other officials from the Presidential Office NT$30,000 (US$914) each for not attending yesterday's hearing as witnesses.
"The five officials had no proper reason to be absent from the hearing. The court will fine them again if they are summoned but refuse to appear in court in the future," Tsai added.
Mark Chen, Government Ethics Department Director-General Hsieh Chien-tsai (謝建財), Presidential Office Second Bureau Director Yu Hsin-ming (余新明) and two other subordinate officials in charge of diplomatic projects were the five officials who received fines.
Mark Chen had said that matters concerning secret diplomacy should be the President's privilege, and that he and other officials from the Presidential Office have no right to explain the matters in court.
Three sets of documents were sealed by Prosecutor Eric Chen (
The court had been attempting to clarify whether the projects had been approved and later placed under the protection of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (
The Presidential Office has refused to produce certain requested documents on the six diplomatic projects relating to the "state affairs fund" case after the court twice sent letters asking for the documents to be handed over.
The Presidential Office replied that turning over the documents was a matter for the president himself to decide.
"The court has decided that the documents are not under the protection of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act and has decided to open the documents to attorneys and prosecutors in the case on Jan. 23 if President Chen Shui-bian (
Tsai said the court would immediately send a letter to the president to request an explanation of the secret diplomatic projects.
First lady Wu Shu-jen (
Wu was absent from yesterday's hearing. She has missed four days of the hearing since falling ill during the court's first session on Dec. 15.
The Presidential Office issued a press statement late on Thursday saying that the five officials had a legitimate reason to be absent from court because questions the judges intended to ask infringed upon the president's "state secrets privilege" and could harm the national interest.
Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said last night that the Presidential Office would appeal against the five officials' fines.
Cho said that the Presidential Office would file the appeal within five days after the court notice is delivered.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang and CNA
also see story:
First lady may be depressed, says Taipei prosecutor
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
RSS