The Taipei District Court yesterday approved a request by prosecutors to extend the detention of two former staffers of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suspected of engaging in espionage for China.
The two detainees, Chiu Shih-yuan (邱世元) and Huang Chu-jung (黃取榮), had been held in custody since mid-February after being summoned by Taipei District Prosecutors Office for questioning, with their detention period due to expire tomorrow.
Citing strong suspicion of serious crimes and concerns over potential collusion or destruction of evidence, prosecutors sought an extension of Chiu and Huang's detention. The court held a hearing yesterday afternoon and approved the request.
Photo: CNA
The two are to have their detention extended for another two months starting Sunday and remain being held incommunicado during the period.
Chiu, former deputy head of the DPP's Taiwan Institute of Democracy, and Huang, a former assistant to DPP New Taipei Councilor Lee Yu-tien (李余典), are among several individuals suspected of spying for Chinese intelligence services while working for senior officials in the DPP government, which has been in power since 2016.
Other suspects in the case include Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨), who worked as an adviser in the office of President William Lai (賴清德), and Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑), former assistant to the Secretary-General of the National Security Council Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) during his tenure as Taiwan's Foreign Minister.
According to the prosecutors, Huang was likely recruited by Beijing's intelligence services when doing business in China and after returning to Taiwan, started working with Ho, Wu Shang-yu and Chiu to gather confidential information about Lai and other top officials.
After providing such information to the Chinese intelligence services through Huang, Ho, Wu and Chiu received tens of thousands of Taiwan dollars in return, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors claimed the probe into the case was expanded after they traced money flows between Huang and the others in February. Huang, Wu and Chiu were detained in February following questioning, with Ho added to the list last week.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not