Taipei Detention House Deputy Director Lee Ta-chu (李大竹) told a press conference yesterday that Financial Times (FT) reporter Robin Kwong had not been given permission to interview former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) last week.
Lee also apologized for the center’s negligence.
His statement came in response to questions over the center’s conduct after an interview with Chen appeared in the London-based newspaper on Monday.
Chen has been detained at the Tucheng (土城), Taipei County, center since late December. Kwong interviewed him in the presence of a prison guard.
Lee said regulations stipulate that reporters must apply to the detention center to interview a detainee, and interviews can only be conducted after official permission has been given and the detainee agrees to talk to reporters. Kwong had not done so, he said.
Chen told Kwong that he was innocent, adding that the case against him was a political witchhunt launched by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
GIO ANGERED
Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) accused the FT of deliberately defying Taiwan’s laws.
He said the Ministry of Justice was mulling how to punish the detention center, Chen and the newspaper.
“I regret [Kwong’s move]. Such a case is unbelievable. I believe international media outlets would pass their own judgment regarding whether [Chen] is really a democracy activist,” Su said.
“We will contact international media outlets and clarify things that are untrue and that may tarnish Taiwan’s image. We hope they will report correct information we provide to them,” he said.
KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said the justice ministry should punish officials at the detention center for neglecting their duties.
The GIO should also protest to the FT, he said.
“We should also investigate whether the reporter [wrote the story] because he took money from Chen Shui-bian,” Chiu said, calling for the government to make Kwong persona non grata.
LINE CROSSED?
KMT Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) said Chen had “crossed the line.”
“Maybe next he would hold a book signing [at the center] or even call out [to talk shows],” the lawmaker said.
Meanwhile, Association of Taiwan Journalists president Leon Chuang (莊豐嘉) said if any blame was to be apportioned, it should be the considered the fault of Chen’s office for sneaking Kwong into the center without permission.
“Reporters everywhere are the same. We will do anything and everything to cover the news, especially from a detainee,” said Chuang, adding that Kwong was merely “doing his job.”
Chuang, however, said that by favoring the foreign media, Chen’s office had probably angered local reporters because it might indicate a mistrust of the Taiwanese press by Chen’s staff.
By granting an exclusive interview to the FT, Chen’s office might reap short-term benefits, but will end up paying for it in the long run, he said.
Max Hirsch, president of the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents Club, refused to comment on the matter yesterday. Kwong was unavailable for comment.
ARRANGEMENTS
Cable channel Formosa TV reported that Kwong said the entire interview was set up by Chen’s office.
Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘), the secretary of Chen’s office, said the meeting should not be considered an official interview. The office agreed to set up the meeting because Kwong simply wanted to get to know Chen’s thoughts, he said.
“It was not an official interview or a news report. What the reporter did was merely publicize details of the question and answer session with Chen,” Chiang said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND AGENCIES
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
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
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 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
RSS