Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) entered the ongoing fray between prosecutors and former lawmaker Lo Fu-chu (羅福助), saying more prosecutors have received threats over Lo's case than the public has been made aware of.
Chen told reporters yesterday that prosecutors from the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office received threats after an eight-member team decided to put Lo on the national hoodlum list in October last year.
Chen did not elaborate on the threats, but said that he did ask the National Police Administration to increase security for prosecutors.
Shen Ming-lun (沈明倫), a senior prosecutor from the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office, told reporters earlier this week that Lo had threatened him while he was in custody. According to Shen, Lo threatened to "ask his children and grandchildren to take revenge" if Shen acted too tough on his case.
Lo admitted having said something along that line, but denied that it was meant to be a threat.
Shen initiated and signed a warrant that led to Lo's arrest last Friday. Shen was also the leader of a team of prosecutors investigating Lo's suspected role in a number of criminal cases.
Lo filed a lawsuit against Shen on Monday, charging the prosecutor violated his personal freedom.
Lo was released by the Taipei District Court on Sunday on the grounds that the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office "usually only deals with urgent cases involving national security." In the ruling, the judges said that his case should have been handled by Taipei district prosecutors, not by the high court prosecutors' office.
But Chen questioned the court's decision yesterday, saying there was nothing illegal or improper about high court prosecutors issuing an arrest warrant, even though the move might be unusual.
Lo's six-year career as a lawmaker, which provided him immunity from arrest, ended on Jan. 31.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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