The Taiwanese diplomat who pleaded guilty to a charge of violating a US federal labor law in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday may have to wait months before she can be released after the judge presiding over the case delayed ruling on a plea bargain agreement.
The ruling was a setback for Jacqueline Liu (劉姍姍), director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Kansas City, who has been detained since Nov. 10, when she was arrested on charges of underpaying and overworking her Filipino housekeeper.
US prosecutors accused Liu of fraudulently hiring two Philippine housekeepers for her residence. One was employed in 2009 and last year, and the other from March 6 to August this year. By pleading guilty, Liu admitted she fraudulently entered into employment contracts with two housekeepers and that she did not intend to comply with the stated terms, US prosecutors said in a press release.
Photo: CNA
After Liu waived her right to a grand jury trial at a detention hearing on Wednesday, she signed a plea agreement with prosecutors, but US District Judge David Gregory Kays did not accept the plea agreement at Friday’s hearing.
Kays said he would consider the plea agreement and a pre-sentencing investigation report, which could take about three months to complete. Liu is to remain in custody while the judge considers the plea agreement.
The Kansas City Star reported Kays asking in the hearing: “Did you do this in your official capacity or as a private individual?” and “Did you use your title when you signed your name [to the contract]?” — to which Liu replied: “No.”
Liu’s answer seemingly contradicted a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when it first responded to Liu’s arrest that the employment of the housekeeper was related to Liu’s official duties and that the housekeeper did not come under the purview of Liu’s personal life.
The two housekeepers were both paid by the ministry.
When about Liu’s contention that the housekeeper was not hired under her official position, the ministry’s spokesman James Chang (章計平) said in Taipei that “he respected” what Liu had said.
At the conclusion of Friday’s hearing, Liu paid a total of US$80,044 in full restitution to the two victims, which accounts for the hours they worked based on a schedule of 16 to 18 hours of work per day over six-and-a-half days a week.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Taipei and Liu would jointly recommend a sentence of time served, which would trigger Liu’s immediate deportation from the US upon sentencing.
Liu remains in federal custody until her sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
The two housekeepers have been proven to be victims of a severe form of human trafficking under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, US prosecutors said.
“As a result, they will receive government support for a T visa, which would allow, among other benefits, them to legally remain and work in the US,” they said.
After the “waiver and plea hearing,” Liu’s lawyer Jim Wirken said his client seemed uneasy about the hearing’s outcome.
Wirken had hoped Kays would agree at the hearing to a 24-point plea bargain deal negotiated by him and US Assistant Attorney Cynthia Cordes, who recommended a sentence of time served and deportation.
According to the Kansas City Star, Liu appeared in court on Friday in a prison-issued jumpsuit with her hands and feet shackled, unlike the hearing on Wednesday, in which she appeared unshackled and dressed in street clothes.
Wirken said he had requested that Liu be permitted to wear street clothes, but that Kays had decided that she be treated no differently from any other defendant in pre-trial detention, according to the paper.
Chang said the ministry felt “deeply grieved” that Liu had to wear a prison jumpsuit and be shackled.
“Liu is our director-general of a Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the US. She should be accorded due respect,” he said.
Liu’s case has been characterized by the ministry as a personal incident rather than one in which the US government failed to treat a Taiwanese diplomat with due respect and to follow due process during its investigation into the allegations against Liu.
The shift coincidently came after Wirken’s first meeting with Liu on Wednesday and followed discussions with ministry officials to devise strategies to settle the case.
Additional reporting by CNA
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
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
RSS