Taipei prosecutors announced yesterday they would not indict former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) over charges that he leaked national secrets by disclosing details about the Presidential Office’s underground tunnel.
Since such information had previously been made public by a former security chief, it was no longer considered a national secret, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, Chen attended a hearing on Oct. 8, 2009, at the Taiwan High Court, during which he gave details to the court about the Presidential Office’s underground tunnel connecting a residence of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his wife Soong Mei-ling (宋美齡) in Shilin District (士林) with the military’s Hengshan Headquarters (衡山指揮所), where a helicopter would be on standby in case of emergency.
Chen added that there’s a second underground tunnel connecting the Presidential Office and the Ministry of National Defense, where helicopters would also be on standby on the top of the ministry’s building, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Chen, who had been detained during his corruption trials, was at the time trying to express to the court that he, despite having more knowledge than other people about escape channels, had no intention of fleeing the country if he was released on bail.
The Special Investigation Panel (SIP) prosecutors, who sat in on the hearing at the time, believed Chen might have violated the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法) by making the information public and immediately asked Taipei prosecutors to look into it.
Taipei prosecutors said Peng Tzu-wen (彭子文), former director of the National Security Bureau’s Special Service Center, was found guilty by the Taiwan High Court of leaking national secrets to the media in September 2007.
The Taiwan High Court found Peng guilty of violating the Classified National Security Information Protection Act and sentenced him to two years in jail, although the sentence was suspended for four years.
Peng said on television that the Presidential Office and defense ministry underground tunnels would be open for the Double Ten National Day and that two helicopters would be on standby at military airports in Taipei in case of an emergency.
The Taipei prosecutors said since those classified information had been leaked by Peng, they were no longer regarded as classified information.
In addition, prosecutors said, as a defendant, Chen used his right to defend himself in court to elaborate on why he would not flee the country, so he was deemed to have no intention of purposely leaking national secrets.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of