Former DPP lawmaker Chou Po-lun (
Yesterday morning, joined by more than a hundred of his supporters, Chou's former DPP legislative colleagues Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), Chang Chun-hung (張俊宏), Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), Chiu Chui-chen (邱垂貞), Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) and Lin Chung-mo (林重謨) organized a farewell party for him in front of the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office.
"I shall return," Chou said to the crowd. "I was knocked down, but I shall get up again." Chou was referring to his coming back for a legislative or a city councilor seat again when he finished his jail term. He will not be able to "get up again," at least for the next seven years, because he has to finish at least half of his sentence to qualifiyfor being paroled.
In addition, the final verdict also suspends Chou's civil liberties for another four years after he serves his jail term. The move strips Chou of the right to vote and to run for office for at least seven years from today, at which time he will be 54 years old.
Chou was supposed to report to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office to begin his jail term on Feb. 25. However, he decided to begin earlier.
In addition, to successfully serve his sentence at the Hualien Prison, Chou changed his household registration from Taipei County to Hualien County on Feb. 12. Taipei District Prosecutors' Office Execution Department Chief Prosecutor Weng Hung-tsai (翁宏在) confirmed Chou's re-registration in Hualien and said that Chou's file records were transferred to the Hualien District Prosecutors' Office, where Chou will report to at 10am today.
Chou did not say why he wanted to serve his sentence in Hualien. But Ker said that Chou decided to do so because he did not want to have too many visitors.
"He told me that he wanted to take the advantage of the time behind bars to read some more books. The Hualien Prison is far away from Taipei. He hoped that it will help keep some visitors away," Ker said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and