The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office yesterday announced it would not prosecute PFP Chairman James Soong (
The high-profile Chung Hsing Bills Finance case (
It was alleged that Soong had embezzled two separate sums. The prosecution said that one sum, totalling around NT$360 million, was the KMT's property. The other was a surplus of donations and KMT subsidies for Soong in his 1994 Taiwan provincial governor campaign, which amounted to some NT$582.3 million.
The prosecution said its investigation confirmed Soong's claim that NT$360 million of the KMT funds deposited in accounts opened by Soong were for the party's use, namely taking care of late president and KMT chairman Chiang Ching-kuo's (蔣經國) family and carrying out the party's political tasks.
"Therefore, despite the fact that the KMT money was deposited in accounts other than those of the KMT under Soong's instruction ? it cannot be said that Soong had intent to embezzle the money ? nor had Soong's use of the money harmed the KMT's interests," officiating prosecutor Hung Tai-wen (
The PFP welcomed the ruling. A spokesman said yesterday on behalf of Soong, who is currently abroad, that Soong was "grateful to the prosecution for its investigation efforts and to his supporters for their persistent support."
"This has proven that Soong did not steal a cent," the spokesman Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) said.
Soong's wife, Chen Wan-shui (
Regarding the embezzlement allegations, the prosecution said that according to its interviews of several KMT politicians and Chiang family members, Soong did use the KMT money to fund the party's candidates in the 1992 legislative election and 1994 provincial councilor election, as well as to subsidize Chiang's family.
In the forgery allegation, the KMT claimed that Soong forged seals of the party and opened bank accounts in the party's name without permission. However, the prosecution said Soong's behavior did not constitute forgery.
"The elements of the offence of forging private documents include that a person who has no rights to produce the documents ... and that the contents of the documents are false," according to the decision.
The prosecution said that, as secretary-general of the KMT, Soong had the right to produce the documents and so it could not be construed as forgery.
The prosecution said that because Soong was acting in the belief that he was carrying out tasks asked of him by the party chairman, "it is obvious that he had no criminal intent to forge documents."
With regard to the fraud and breach of trust accusations, in which Soong's opponents claimed he misappropriated a surplus of the funds he raised from the public for his provincial gubernatorial campaign, the prosecution also said Soong's behavior did not constitute an offence.
"Soong raised that money in the name of his campaign and he ran and won the election, so it is not fraud," prosecutors said.
"Donations are a gift. The purpose of the campaign donation was for the candidate's election, not for any commission after the election. Therefore it is not about breach of trust," prosecutors said.
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation. “With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
RSS