Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) may face a second round of indictments, prosecutors said yesterday.
The Special Investigation Panel (SIP) plans to question the former president on whether he accepted bribes from former Taipei Financial Center Corp chairwoman Diana Chen (陳敏薰) and former Chinatrust Financial Holding Co vice chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒).
Prosecutors say that Diana Chen gave the former first lady NT$10 million (US$300,000) in exchange for her seat as president of Grand Cathay Securities Corp (大華證券).
‘POLITICAL DONATION’
While both Wu and Diana Chen admitted to the money transaction, both denied it was bribery and said the money was a form of “political donation.”
Last month, when Diana Chen was summoned to give her testimony at the Taipei District Court, she told the court that she wanted to make a contribution to the country by donating money to the Democratic Progressive Party through Wu.
Koo is suspected of illegally giving the former first family as much as NT$300 million.
Prosecutors say that the former president used election campaign funds and classified foreign relations as excuses to ask Koo for donations that the former president and his wife then pocketed. This may constitute influence peddling, a charge that may be added to the original charges of embezzlement, corruption, forgery and other crimes, prosecutors said.
RELEASE
Meanwhile, Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) has scheduled a hearing on Thursday to decide if Chen Shui-bian will remain incarcerated at the Taipei Detention Center where he is being held. Prosecutors have said it is necessary to jail the former president to prevent him from colluding with witnesses or absconding.
SIP spokesperson Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) said prosecutors would request that the former president remain in detention because “the reasons for detention still apply.”
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS