The High Court yesterday ordered a lower court to hear an appeal against the decision to grant bail to former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
After being held incommunicado for a year, Ko was released on Monday on bail of NT$70 million (US$2.31 million) on the condition that he wear an electronic tracking device and not leave Taiwan.
On Tuesday, prosecutors filed an appeal against Ko’s release, requesting that he be detained until they finish questioning witnesses next month.
Photo: CNA
The witnesses to be questioned include former Taipei Department of Urban Development director Huang Ching-mao (黃景茂), former Taipei deputy mayor and Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) and Wu Shun-min (吳順民), Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei’s (應曉薇) assistant.
Ying was released on bail of NT$30 million, which prosecutors have also filed an appeal against.
The high court criticized the lower court for issuing conflicting rulings within a relatively short time period and for failing to clearly define which witnesses Ko and Ying are barred from contacting.
The district court is scheduled to hear the detention requests at 10 am on Monday, with Ko and Ying required to report at 9 am.
In a statement, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) urged the court to uphold Ko's release, saying prosecutors have already questioned all critical witnesses over the past eight months and warning against undermining basic human rights.
Ko, former TPP chairman, was indicted in December last year for allgedly accepting bribes of NT$17.1 million in a property development deal during his tenure as Taipei mayor and embezzling political donations during his presidential campaign last year.
Prosecutors are seeking a total sentence of 28.5 years for Ko, who has maintained his innocence and said that the charges are politically motivated.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS