The Prosecutors' Office of the Taiwan High Court has launched an investigation into Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun's (江炳坤) visit to China, during which he reached a 10-point agreement with Beijing officials, Prosecutor-General Wu Ying-chao (吳英昭) said yesterday.
"It is a criminal case, and politics should be involved," Wu told the legislature.
"Prosecutor Chu Chia-chi (
Minister of Justice Morley Shih (
An oral agreement in which a consensus is reached with a foreign country might constitute a violation of Article 113 of the Criminal Code, Shih said.
He said that, according to the law, an unauthorized person who secretly agrees with a foreign government or its agent on matters requiring the authorization of the government may be sent to jail for a minimum of seven years. The maximum sentence is life imprisonment.
Vice Minister of Justice Tang Jinn-chuan (
"According to Taiwan's current Constitution, Taiwan is a sovereign state, and China is another sovereign state. That makes China a foreign country," he said.
At the legislative session, People First Party Legislator Chou Hsi-wei (
"Prosecutors are investigating Chiang because he is the KMT's vice chairman. Politics must be involved," Chou said.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (
Wu replied that the law does not prohibit cross-strait agreements that have nothing to do with the government or politics.
Chu said yesterday that he is gathering information from several sources.
"It will take some time before I decide whether I will summon Chiang for questioning," he said.
Prosecutors began their investigation after Tainan City Councilor Siew Po-jen (
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
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