Former KMT legislator Diane Lee (李慶安) made her first court appearance yesterday at Taipei District Court on charges that she defrauded the government of more than NT$100 million (US$3 million) in wages and benefits.
Lee admitted for the first time to possessing dual-citizenship from the US but pleaded not guilty to the charges of fraud and forgery.
Because both Lee’s husband and children reside in the US, the court affirmed the prosecutor’s decision to restrict her from leaving the country.
Earlier reports have shown that she co-owns a house in Maryland with her husband, who is a US citizen.
Lee left the court with her lawyer, who in a statement said that she was apologetic and concerned for the public.
Lee declined to comment.
She faces up to eight years in prison if found guilty.
Allegations of dual citizenship first surfaced after Next Magazine reported in March last year that Lee still possessed a valid US passport. In January, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office received official confirmation from the US Department of State that Lee’s US citizenship was valid.
The Nationality Act (國籍法) prohibits government officials from holding dual citizenship and requires that those who are dual citizens give up foreign citizenship before assuming office.
Lee resigned from the KMT in December last year and left her legislative post early this year. The Central Election Committee subsequently revoked her election certificates dating back to her service as a Taipei City legislator.
It has been claimed that because of her previous ineligibility to work as a public employee, the wages and benefits she accrued over 10 years in her posts as a Taipei City councilor and a legislator were illegally obtained.
The legislature has promised that if Lee is found guilty, it will start proceedings to recover the wages.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
RSS