The Taipei District Court yesterday released the president's son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘), on NT$17 million bail (US$518,900) after the Taiwan High Court asked it to review its decision to grant bail to Chao.
On Monday, the high court asked the Taipei District Court to review its decision last week to grant bail to Chao, along with former Taiwan Development Corp (TDC) chairman Su Teh-jien (蘇德建) and businessman Yu Shih-yi (游世一).
Chao's wife, Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤), attended yesterday's hearing, making her first public appearance since giving birth to their third son earlier this month.
PHOTOS: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Prosecutors said they were concerned that Chao might flee the country to avoid trial since he had booked a flight to Japan last month after the scandal broke and a few suspects have been summoned for questioning.
Yesterday morning Chen Hsing-yu issued a statement saying "the plan to take a trip to Japan was my idea, not Chao's. I was annoyed about the media reports saying my mother [first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍)] was involved in the Sogo Department ownership struggle, so I decided to travel abroad with my husband."
She added that Chao had never planned to flee the country.
Prosecutors had hoped the three defendants would be ordered into custody again, but if the judges decided to let them remain then at least the amounts of their bonds would be increased.
The hearing began at 4pm and lasted about two hours. At 7pm, the judges decided to allow Chao to remain free, but increased his bond by NT$17 million.
They did not raise the bail for Yu or Su. Yu was freed last week on NT$10 million bail, while Su's was NT$5 million.
Chao was indicted a week ago Monday -- along with his father, Chao Yu-chu (趙玉柱), and three others -- for violating the Securities Transaction Law (證券交易法).
The scandal dates back to last summer, when Su and Chang Hwa Commercial Bank officials dined on two occasions with Chao Chien-ming and Yu at a Japanese restaurant in Taipei. Prosecutors believe they discussed confidential information about TDC.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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