Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) made his first court appearance yesterday since reports emerged on Tuesday that he has attempted suicide three times since first being taken into custody in late 2008.
Chen, who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence on corruption charges, arrived at the Taiwan High Court to the cheers of around 20 of his supporters. He looked tired and ill.
Chen was there to appeal a district court decision that found him guilty of pressuring his close aide Lin Teh-hsun (林德訓) to give false testimony to investigators looking into irregularities in his administration of special state affairs funds during his tenure as president between 2000 and 2008.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
During the hearing, the former president reiterated his innocence and made his statements standing up, even though the judges gave him the option to sit down.
“I did not direct anyone to provide false testimony,” Chen said.
Saying that he had been wrongfully accused by prosecutors whose sole purpose was to humiliate him, Chen expressed the hope that the court would re-examine the case in detail and prove his innocence.
“It has not been easy for me to stay alive until today,” Chen said at the end of the hearing, adding that anyone who had been subjected to the humiliation he experienced would have thought about death.
The court is scheduled to make a ruling on the case on Aug. 17.
Before the hearing, Chen’s lawyer, Shih Yi-lin (石宜琳), told the press that Chen has been talking off-topic and showing signs of anxiety lately. Shih asked the judges to finish the hearing by noon because a psychiatrist was scheduled to visit Chen later that day.
According to the Ministry of Justice, a doctor from the psychiatry department at Chang Gung Hospital in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Linkou District (林口) visited the Taipei Prison yesterday afternoon to check Chen’s health.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS