The Taiwan High Court yesterday ruled to keep former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) behind bars for another three months, on the grounds that he might flee the country if released.
At 8:45pm last night, an hour later than scheduled, Presiding Judge Teng Chen-chiu (鄧振球) announced the appeals court’s decision to extend Chen’s detention because he was suspected of committing serious crimes and, as a former president, he has more channels to flee the country than an ordinary citizen.
The judges also expressed concern about the large amount of money and other assets the former first family possesses overseas.
Chen had been listening to the judges’ decision while standing up. However, after hearing the judges’ decision, he fell back limply into his chair, looking dejected.
Yesterday morning the High Court conducted a random draw, selecting three judges — Teng, Pong Shing-ming (彭幸鳴) and Pan Tsui-hsueh (潘翠雪) — to preside over Chen’s trial. The selection process was closely watched by the media and legal experts because the Council of Grand Justices has been asked to rule on the constitutionality of the switching of judges in Chen’s case at the Taipei District Court.
In December, a panel of judges replaced Judge Chou Chan-chun (周占春) with Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) in the trial of Chen and 12 codefendants, prompting allegations of procedural flaws and political interference.
Yesterday morning, about 100 Chen supporters gathered outside the High Court, shouting “A-bian is innocent.”
Hundreds of police officers stood guard to maintain order. Barricades and barbed wire lined the sidewalks surrounding the High Court and Judicial Yuan.
The hearing started at 3:30pm. As Chen entered the courtroom, his supporters in the public seating shouted words of encouragement and addressed him in Hoklo, saying “President A-bian.”
When asked whether Chen would hire his own lawyers, he replied “not currently,” and thanked the court for appointing two public defenders to represent him.
Soon after the hearing began, Chen launched into a long speech about why he should not have been found guilty by the District Court.
He focused most of his efforts on explaining the history and nature of the presidential “state affairs fund,” from which he and his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) were found guilty of embezzlement and sentenced to life in prison.
He said that the District Court deemed many expenses incurred from the presidential residence that were reimbursed using the state affairs fund as “embezzlement.”
He listed examples of expenses he believed should be appropriately reimbursed by the fund but were found illegal by the court, from wet towels to haircuts.
“The presidential residence is an extended part of the president’s official duties,” he said, adding that when he was president, he never handled his own accounting and reimbursement procedures.
“Is a president supposed to live without dignity?” he asked, questioning whether the fund could not legally reimburse him for such expenses, especially when used by previous presidents in this way.
He criticized the District Court’s decision to convict him for accepting bribes in a land deal in Longtan (龍潭), Taoyuan County, and from former Taipei Financial Center Corp chairwoman Diana Chen (陳敏薰). He said that it should not have found him guilty just because it believed he knew about his wife taking bribes.
Chen Shui-bian’s readiness to speak in his defense yesterday contrasted with his refusal to answer any questions at the District Court, where he protested in silence at what he called an “unfair judicial system” and his “illegal detention.”
Chen Shui-bian has been detained since Dec. 30 last year.
During his detention hearing yesterday, he offered judges several suggestions, including house arrest or electronic tags. Although judges said these alternatives had been “considered,” they insisted it was necessary to detain the former president for another three months.
On Sept. 11, the District Court found Chen Shui-bian, his wife and 11 codefendants guilty. The former president and his wife were sentenced to life in prison and fined NT$500 million (US$15.4 million).
The latest ruling agitated Chen supporters gathered outside the court and they threw eggs and bottles of water to protest the ruling.
“Injustice! Political persecution!” they shouted after learning the verdict.
Several protesters lay down on the ground and put banners on their bodies reading “Injustice!” and “Human rights are dead,” while others chanted “Go go, A-Bian!”
Police blocked the entrance to the court and kept protesters away from the door as they pushed and tried to enter the court building.
Some supporters sat on the ground, and said they would start a long-term protest and would not leave until Chen was released.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MO YAN-CHIH
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS