Former Chinese Taipei Taekwondo Association (CTTA) chairman Chen Chien-ping (陳建平) attended a hearing at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday to answer questions in a slander suit filed by his successor over allegations involving Yang Shu-chun (楊淑君), a rising taekwondo star.
Chen was subpoenaed as a defendant after he was sued by CTTA chairman Angus Hsu (許安進) for slander. He had accused Hsu of coercing the 26-year-old Yang to withdraw her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over her disqualification from the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, on Nov. 17 last year.
After the 20-minute hearing, Chen told the media: “I have proof, which I have presented to the prosecutor,” but added that since the judicial procedure has begun, it would be improper for him to speak publicly about the case.
Asked whether the case might affect Yang’s training since she could also be summoned for questioning, Chen told reporters to ask Yang herself.
Hsu filed the suit on Aug. 2 after he was accused of pressuring Yang to withdraw her CAS appeal last month.
Yang filed the appeal in December, after she was disqualified for allegedly wearing extra electronic sensors during a bout. Video footage apparently shows she had removed the sensors before entering the ring.
The World Taekwondo Federation ruled in December that Yang should be banned from taking part in any competition for three months, while her coach was banned from attending competitions for 20 months.
Her decision to withdraw the CAS appeal shocked her supporters and triggered rumors of coercion from the CTTA.
The prosecutors’ office said investigations had been launched into whether Chen defamed Hsu and whether Hsu threatened Yang.
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a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive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.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, was arrested in Boston last month amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. The arrest of Liou was first made public on the official Web site of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday. ICE said Liou was apprehended for overstaying her visa. The Boston Field Office’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) had arrested Liou, a “fugitive, criminal alien wanted for embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes in Taiwan,” ICE said. Liou was taken into custody