The Ministry of Justice yesterday asked the three Kaohsiung prosecutors who allegedly attended a party hosted by drug dealers to take a temporary leave of absence until an investigation into the incident is completed.
Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
Around 9am yesterday, Chen wrote a personal note outlining this decision, passed it to Tsai Pi-yu (
However, around noon, Chen changed his mind and ordered that Chin, Liu and Wang be asked to take temporarily leaves of absence instead.
The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office confirmed that the three prosecutors all asked for a three days' leave, to start today. Their requests were approved by Prosecutor-General Chu Nan (朱楠).
Speaking on behalf of Chen, Vice Minister of Justice Hsieh Wen-ting (
"For law enforcement officers, the most important thing is reputation and belief in justice," said Hsieh. "Their behavior has seriously damaged their credibility as prosecutors and I think it's necessary [to take a leave of absence]."
Hsieh did not say whether the ministry will ask the three prosecutors to extend their leave of absence when the three days are up.
"I hope that investigators can wrap up their investigation within three days," he said.
A Chinese-language newspaper reported on Thursday that Chin, Liu and Wang had allegedly attended a party hosted by drug dealers at a Kaohsiung hostess club on June 27 last year.
Ministry regulations forbid law enforcement officers from "attending inappropriate activities," including visiting hostess bars and parties hosted by criminals. The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office said yesterday that the trio had said they were invited to the party by friends and were not aware that it was to be held at a hostess club or it was being hosted by drug dealers.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry