The Taipei District Court yesterday morning opened documents related to secret diplomatic missions in the "state affairs fund" case after the president failed to produce information supporting his claim that the documents should be protected by legislation on classified information.
Prosecutor Chang Hsi-huai (
Court spokesman Liu Shou-sung (劉壽嵩) said the court ruled that the files could not be considered secret, as President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the Presidential Office had failed to produce documents proving that the files fall under the protection of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法).
Chang urged defense attorneys to read the documents as soon as possible.
"Lawyers are entitled to read the documents at the court. They might very well find information that aids their clients' case in the documents," he said.
Three sets of documents were sealed by Prosecutor Eric Chen (陳瑞仁) after he completed his investigation into the president's use of the "fund."
Eric Chen said yesterday that he had sealed the documents to prevent the release of sensitive information, although he added that he did not consider the documents to be under the protection of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act.
Defense lawyers yesterday called on the president to seek a ruling on the matter from the Council of Grand Justices before the court meets again on Feb. 2 to determine whether the "state affairs fund" case should continue.
Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that the president would "seriously" consider the lawyers' proposal, as it seemed a good way to resolve the constitutional dispute between the court and the Presidential Office.
However, it would take some time to map out a plan, as seeking a constitutional interpretation would be a "huge project," he said.
Wellington Koo (顧立雄), one of first lady Wu Shu-jen's (吳淑珍) defense lawyers in the case, told a press conference late yesterday afternoon that members of her legal team considered the president to be the only individual entitled to file the request, because he is duty-bound to protect the constitutional order and national security.
Koo said the legal team would not ask to review the documents unless the dispute is settled.
"The purpose is to safeguard the presidency rather than his career, and he should not be put off by the possibility of criticism that the move is a scheme aimed at prolonging the court proceedings," he said.
Koo added that the president might want to ask the council to decide whether it was constitutional for Eric Chen to have questioned him and to have listed him as an accomplice in the indictment.
The Democratic Progressive Party caucus has lodged a request with the council to rule on the constitutionality of Eric Chen's questioning of the president, but the council has not decided whether to take up the case.
Attorney Yang Feng-wan (楊芳婉) said that they would like to see the Council of Grand Justices take a stance on where the line between judicial and presidential power should be drawn.
Attorney Richard Lee (李勝琛) said that the president's "state secrets privilege" was regulated by the Constitution rather than the Classified National Security Information Protection Act, which he said gives the president the right to refuse the court's request that he surrender documents which concern state secrets.
also see story:
DPP supports interpretation request
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS