Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday filed a defamation lawsuit against a political commentator, who claimed that Chen deposited more than NT$30 billion (US$926 million) in Japan.
Dismissing Yao Li-ming’s (姚立明) allegations as “preposterous,” the statement issued by Chen’s office said that Yao, a professor of administrative management at Chinese Culture University, should have been careful in his words and deeds instead of making groundless accusations and damaging Chen’s reputation and social status.
Yao claimed during a TV talk show on Monday that he had learned through “official channels” that Chen had deposited more than NT$30 billion in Japan.
The statement urged prosecutors to launch an investigation into the matter so they can help correct any public misinformation and defend Chen’s rights.
Yao said yesterday that Chen’s legal action would not only give him an opportunity to tell the court what happened, but also offered the court a chance to find out whether Chen had hidden deposits overseas.
Yao said he has testimony from witnesses and evidence to substantiate his claim and would be happy to testify in court.
Speaking late last night, Chen dismissed the allegation as ridiculous, saying he would commit seppuku if he were found to have NT$30 billion in Japan.
In related news, Chen’s office yesterday rebutted media reports that he used three of his bodyguards as figureheads for money laundering. The reports also alleged that former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) used two other bodyguards to wire more than NT$1.5 billion abroad.
Chen’s office issued a statement asking the Special Investigation Panel to provide correct information on the three bodyguards in question — Cheng Kuang-lin (鄭光麟), Liao Ching-sung (廖青松) and Lee Chih-chung (李志中).
The trio did not serve Chen during his presidency, the statement said. Neither did they have any financial relationship with Chen and his family nor did they serve as figureheads to facilitate money laundering, it said.
As for the two other bodyguards — Chen Kuo-sheng (陳國勝) and Lee Chung-jen (李忠仁) — Chen’s office said that a record of the prosecutors’ interview of Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英), the former chairman of China Development Industrial Bank, during their investigation into the Zanadau scandal in 2003 showed that Chen Kuo-sheng and Lee Chung-jen served as figureheads for Lee Teng-hui.
Liu was convicted of his involvement in the case in which a woman accused him of accepting money in return for his help in securing bank financing.
The statement said that judicial investigation found that more than NT$1.5 billion had been wired overseas between 1995 and 2001 using the two guards’ accounts.
However, prosecutors did not pursue this part of the case, the statement said, adding that they suspected prosecutors did it deliberately.
Liu had also served as the unofficial treasurer of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and was a close friend of Lee Teng-hui. He is widely thought to have had absolute control over the KMT’s assets during Lee Teng-hui’s presidency.
Later yesterday Lee Teng-hui’s office yesterday issued a statement, denying that Chen Kuo-sheng and Lee Chung-jen were his bodyguards.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS