The Ministry of Justice announced yesterday the removal of Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office head prosecutor Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) for alleged involvement in an improper lobbying case involving Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
The Executive Yuan approved the removal yesterday, the ministry said, adding that Chen will be transferred to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
The ministry said the removal came after an investigation by the ministry’s Prosecutor Evaluation Committee, which reached a decision on Saturday last week. The committee said Chen was involved in the lobbying case and that it recommended he be given an administrative reprimand.
Photo: CNA
The committee said Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) gave the green light to Special Investigation Division (SID) prosecutor Cheng Shen-yuan (鄭深元) to apply for a wiretap on subjects unrelated to any open investigations.
Huang also approved the production of a transcript of a wiretapped conversation, which was used when the SID reported possible misconduct on Sept. 6, based on a conversation it overheard between Wang and Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘).
In the conversation, Wang and Ker discussed lobbying then-minister of justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) and Chen Shou-huang to prevent Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office prosecutor Lin Shiow-tao (林秀濤) from appealing Ker’s acquittal in June in a breach of trust case, the SID said.
The committee said that Huang visited President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) with information on an ongoing investigation that was obtained via the wiretaps.
Huang’s action in reporting to the president had no constitutional basis, the committee said, as the Republic of China Constitution does not list the president as the head of the Legislative Yuan, Ministry of Justice or the Executive Yuan.
The committee said Huang and SID section chief Yang Jung-tsung (楊榮宗) have undermined the credibility of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the SID’s superior authority. It recommended that Huang be dismissed and Yang and Cheng be admonished. The trio have been handed over to the Control Yuan.
The committee recommended that Chen Shou-huang and Lin Hsiu-tao be given lighter administrative reprimands, as they are believed to have been forthcoming with their accounts, the committee said.
In response to the ministry’s announcement yesterday, Chen Shou-huang said he respected the ministry’s decision, while insisting on his innocence.
In related developments, a motion to impeach Huang was withdrawn at the last minute on Thursday, delaying a second attempt to remove him for leaking information to the president about his political rival.
The withdrawal does not mean Huang is off the hook, as the Control Yuan member who withdrew the motion, Wu Feng-shan (吳豐山), said he will resubmit it at a later date.
Wu withdrew the motion after some of the nine members present at Thursday’s meeting complained that the committee’s report about Huang’s alleged leaking of information was “not complete” and that they had not received an official copy of the report.
Huang, insisting that it was his duty to disclose cases of improper lobbying involving senior politicians, has vowed to resign if he is impeached by the Control Yuan or found guilty in a first court trial.
He survived the first Control Yuan attempt to impeach him on Nov. 28, when a tied vote defeated the motion.
According to Control Yuan regulations, an impeachment vote needs a clear majority to be passed. An impeachment meeting can be held a maximum of twice against an official for the same charges.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
‘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