Director Chang Tso-chi (張作驥) was indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday on sexual assault charges for allegedly raping a female screenwriter in May.
Prosecutors said the 52-year-old Chang denied committing rape, saying he did not remember what happened that night and that he had been suffering from a back injury that rendered him almost incapable of having intercourse.
They said that on May 13, Chang, staff from his production company and friends dined at his offices in Taipei, and were later joined by the screenwriter, 49.
By 2am the next morning, everyone had left except Chang and the woman, who was drunk, prosecutors said.
The woman alleges that Chang took off her pants, kissed her and then raped her, even though she tried to resist.
Prosecutors said that after the woman left Chang’s offices, she reported the rape to police and went to hospital for an examination.
They claim that the DNA of the specimens of semen taken from the woman and her pants matches Chang’s DNA.
The prosecutors’ office said Chang said he was falsely accused and that the woman was out of her mind.
It said that he provided video filmed on a smartphone by someone at the dinner which showed that at about 1am, the woman was drunk, crying and urging people not to leave the gathering.
However, prosecutors said the footage also showed Chang, who appeared to be sober, which was at odds with his statement that he could not remember what happened that night.
Chang has worked as assistant director for well-known film director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢). In 1993, he founded his own production company in Taipei.
Chang’s films include When Love Comes (當愛來的時候), which won Best Cinematography at the Golden Horse Awards in Taipei in 2010.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS