Pro-localization groups yesterday accused prosecutors of not taking the necessary steps to prosecute former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for his suspected role in the Taipei Dome project and a classified information leak, demanding that they take action immediately.
A coalition of groups, including Taiwan Forever Association, Northern Taiwan Society and Taiwan Association of University Professors, held a news conference in front of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office building, accusing the agency and the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office of ignoring three criminal lawsuits the groups have filed against Ma.
Lawyer Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said that Ma, when serving as Taipei mayor, was suspected of helping Farglory Group (遠雄集團), the contractor for the Taipei Dome, secure profits by agreeing to waive royalty fees for land use.
Photo: CNA
“The royalty waiver was allegedly negotiated under the table between Ma and [Farglory founder] Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄), which could be proved with negotiation recordings provided by [former Taipei finance commissioner] Lee Sush-der (李述德). Such incriminating evidence is rarely found in corruption cases, but prosecutors ignored the evidence and failed to launch an investigation,” lawyer Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文龍) said.
Another lawsuit focuses on Ma’s role in a classified information leak in 2013, which involved wiretapping of telephone conversations of former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
Former prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) leaked details of the conversation to Ma, which led to Huang Shih-ming’s conviction last year, but prosecutors did not investigate Ma’s alleged role in instigating Huang Shih-ming to leak the information.
Ma was also implicated in a lawsuit that accused him of unexplained increases in personal wealth during his time as president.
The SID, which received the Taipei Dome lawsuit, transferred the case to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, but the office did not launch investigations into the cases, the groups said.
“We are here to issue a formal condemnation of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, whose failure to launch an investigation has significantly harmed the public’s trust in the judiciary. Such an apparent attempt to protect Ma from prosecution is the reason more than 80 percent of the public do not trust prosecutors,” Huang Di-ying said.
“Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san [邱太三] should toughen up rather than allowing Ma to travel to Hong Kong, which I believe is an attempt to test the possibility of absconding,” Cheng said.
A travel restriction should be imposed on Ma, who is planning to visit Hong Kong on Wednesday next week, they said.
Youth Against Oppression in Taiwan deputy secretary-general Lin Chia-yu (林家宇) said the SID becomes a “no investigation division” when it comes to accusations involving Ma, compared with its handling of cases involving former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office and Agency Against Corruption are investigating the cases.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS