Control Yuan member Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟) on Thursday called on President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to pardon former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), saying that now was the “best and most appropriate” time for such a move.
Chen Shih-meng made the comment during a Super FM98.5 interview hosted by Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏).
The Control Yuan on Thursday last week released a 499-page report on Chen Shih-meng and fellow Control Yuan members Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠) and Tsai Chung-yi’s (蔡崇義) year-long investigation into the switching of judges presiding over Chen Shui-bian’s trials.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
The report found that there was undue interference and misconduct by top officials and judges regarding the former president’s prosecution.
It would be incorrect to issue a pardon for Chen Shui-bian if the Democratic Progressive Party simply wanted to improve its chances of winning the presidential election next year, Chen Shih-meng said in the interview.
However, Chen Shui-bian had been treated unfairly and his rights had been infringed, so if the judiciary could not rectify the situation, it should be rectified politically, he said.
There were obvious traces of political manipulation in all four of Chen Shui-bian’s cases, Chen Shih-meng said, adding that there has never been proof that he embezzled money.
Chen Shih-meng said that he had always been a proponent of launching an investigation into the court procedures during the former president’s trials.
In 2016, then-DPP secretary-general Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) and then-Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said that Tsai would seek to pardon Chen Shui-bian “at an appropriate time,” Chen Shih-meng said, adding: “That time is now, as the truth has been made public.”
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
RSS