President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday visited the family of Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶), who was wrongfully executed by the military 14 years ago for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl, and promised to clear Chiang’s name in a speedy manner.
Ma apologized to Chiang and his family on Monday through Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), as well as a posting on his Facebook page.
After visiting the family, Ma told reporters that Chiang’s mother and uncle said they cared more about clearing his name than receiving compensation.
Photo: Reuters
“I have instructed the Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Justice to fully assist the family so Chiang can be declared innocent and his family obtain compensation,” Ma said. “Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱), who is also here today, will also do his best to help the family get its wish.”
Ma said his visit and apology demonstrated his administration’s willingness to help the family see its requests fulfilled.
“The public must realize that my visit today clearly indicates that Chiang is innocent,” Ma said. “This fact has been confirmed by the investigations of the Control Yuan and Taipei District Court.”
The family’s wish that Chiang’s conviction and death penalty be revoked has to proceed in accordance with the law, but he promised the process would not take five or 10 years, Ma said.
“A retrial is probably the least time-consuming, but we will do our best to shorten the process,” he said.
However, he declined to specify how long it would take, saying he would ask the justice ministry to provide an estimate.
He also dismissed speculation that Chiang could not be declared innocent until another suspect, Hsu Jung-chou (許榮洲), has been proven guilty.
Taipei prosecutors arrested Hsu, who has a record of sexual offenses, as a suspect in the case on Friday.
Ma said the new evidence discovered could be used against Hsu at a retrial and clearing Chiang’s name should be dealt with separately from proving Hsu guilty.
Chiang was executed on Aug. 13, 1997, but his family continued to fight to clear his name.
A Control Yuan report on its investigation said that in notes Chiang wrote in prison, he recounted being threatened with an electric baton, exposed to strong light and forced to undergo physical activity all night during his interrogations.
In letters Chiang sent to his family while in prison, he wrote that investigators told him “the chief [then-head of air force command Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏)] is coming to see you. When he arrives, remember to kneel before him and ask for help. The chief will save you.”
About 30 military officials involved in Chiang’s arrest, trial and execution are facing criminal and administrative investigations, including Chen.
While Chen also served as minister of national defense under Ma, the president said he was in no position to say whether Chen or other military personnel involved in Chiang’s case had been guilty of negligence or should be held legally responsible for his wrongful conviction and execution.
Chiang’s case has prompted Ma’s long-time friend C.V. Chen (陳長文), the president of Taiwan’s Red Cross Society, to urge the government to consider abolishing the death penalty.
Ma said his administration was willing to gradually try for abolition because the public remains polarized on the issue.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)