Corruption sentence disqualifies Chen from standing for office: CEC

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/13
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Former President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) cannot run for a legislative seat

in the January 11, 2020 elections due to his conviction for corruption, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said Friday (December 13).

The Taiwan Action Party Alliance (TAPA), founded only this year, had nominated Chen at No.6 on its list of at-large candidates, who are elected through proportional representation with voters selecting a party, not the individual candidates.

The ex-president did not qualify to be a candidate because he had been convicted of corruption, the CEC said. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but was released on medical parole in January 2015.

Two other candidates were also disqualified, one because he had only just left his job as a prosecutor last October, and another one because he had violated the Election and Recall Act, the Central News Agency reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/13
By: Flor Wang and Lin Yu-li

Berlin, Dec. 13 (CNA) Taiwan and Germany signed a letter of intent (LOI) to boost cooperation on transitional justice in Berlin on Thursday.

Taiwan's representative to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) signed the LOI with Thomas Prinz, Germany's envoy to Taiwan, on behalf of the respective authorities in their countries.

Noting that this year marks the 40 anniversary of the Kaohsiung Incident, Shieh said many people helped build the democracy that Taiwan enjoys today.

Chen Chu (陳菊), now the secretary-general of Taiwan's presidential office, is one of those who was helped by German friends while serving a jail term as a political prisoner for her involvement in the incident, Shieh said.    [FULL  STORY]

INTELLIGENCE ACT: People who leak information about secure mobile or land-based communications would face 10 years to life with no statute of limitations

Taipei Times;
Date\ Dec 14, 2019
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Lawmakers yesterday passed amendments to the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作

法), which stipulate that intelligence personnel who spy for an external force and leak information on national defense, national security or communications security could face life imprisonment.

The act previously stipulated a prison term of at least seven years for personnel spying for an external force, or three to 10 years if leaked intelligence was not in the three categories.

People who have access to sources of intelligence, channels, agencies or personnel, or information pertaining to the upholding of mobile or land-based communications security would face a prison term of 10 years to life if they are found to have leaked classified information as spies for a benign or hostile external force, the new rules say.

The 30-year statute of limitations for such charges was extended to a lifetime.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Internatinal
Date: 12 December, 2019
By: Paula Chao
 

Reports have it that hundreds of HK protesters have fled to Taiwan to escape harsh punishment. Is Taiwan becoming a haven for HK protesters? Can they reside legally? We’ll have the answers in today’s show.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: December 12, 2019 
By: Phillip Charlier

At least three Taiwanese suspects were arrested yesterday, after Japan Coast Guard officers and police intercepted a vessel in Kumamoto Prefecture attempting to smuggle 600 kilograms of amphetamine into Japan.

Taiwan Coast Guard Administration officers in Kaohsiung tipped off their counterparts in Japan after receiving information on a transnational narcotics smuggling operation headed by a Taiwanese national named Huang.

According to reports, Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) had been investigating the case for several months, and after notifying Japan’s National Police Agency International Investigative Operations, formed an ad-hoc international investigation team.    [FULL  STORY]

The authorities have also raided more than 1,000 underground gambling rings

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/12
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese intelligence and law enforcement agencies are probing

underground transfers of overseas money totaling NT$100 billion and investigating if it is linked to campaigns aimed at influencing the upcoming elections.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) said at an Executive Yuan meeting on Thursday (Dec. 12) that it had been investigating 66 cases of underground money transfers since July. More than NT$100 billion (US$3.2 billion) was wired from a number of Chinese cities, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Vietnam to Taiwan.

A total of 279 people are believed to be involved and six people have been detained by the authorities, according to MOJ. The ministry added that it had seized NT$618 million in account savings, money in foreign currencies, as well as six property units owned by the suspects.

However, the ministry said further investigation was required to determine whether the money transfers were intended for election betting, or as donations to specific candidates. With the presidential and legislative elections less than one month away, the authorities are focused on criminal activities that could affect election outcomes.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/12
By: Chang Hsiung-feng, Wu Hsin-yun and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) Far Eastern Air Transport Corp's (FAT) sudden decision to end its flight operations with effect from Friday is expected to inconvenience 3,408 passengers, while the airline may face a fine of up to NT$3 million (US$ 97,975) for not meeting its flight commitments, government authorities said Thursday.

According to the Tourism Bureau, 3,251 people in 120 tour groups had already booked scheduled FAT flights for Friday or later dates.

Another five tour groups, with 157 people, had taken FAT flights on overseas trips and were scheduled to return to Taiwan on the carrier, the bureau said in a press release, after FAT announced earlier in day that due to financial difficulties, it was ending its service with effect from Friday.

At a joint press conference with the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), however, FAT Deputy General Manager Huang Yu-chi (黃育祺) said the airline was simply "suspending" its flight operations temporarily due to a shortage of funds, which he estimated at NT$30 million.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 13, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) yesterday said that it has asked two domestic carriers to

offer additional flights to Kinmen and Penghu after Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT, 遠東航空) announced that it is to cease operations today.

There are 500 passengers stranded overseas, the CAA added.

FAT yesterday morning said that its Web site was temporarily shut down for maintenance, which was what happened on Nov. 23, 2016, the day TransAsia Airways terminated its operations.

“Due to financial losses and difficulties in securing funds for operations, we would stop all aviation services starting Dec. 13,” FAT wrote in a statement yesterday.    [FULL  STORY]

Time
December 11, 2019
By: AdaM Schreck/AP

(TAIPEI, Taiwan) — Taiwan’s top diplomat said Tuesday that his government stands with Hong Kong

citizens pushing for “freedom and democracy,” and would help those displaced from the semi-autonomous Chinese city if Beijing intervenes with greater force to quell the protests.

Speaking to The Associated Press in Taipei, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu was careful to say his government has no desire to intervene in Hong Kong’s internal affairs, and that existing legislation is sufficient to deal with a relatively small number of Hong Kong students or others seeking to reside in Taiwan.

But he added that Hong Kong police have responded with “disproportionate force” to the protests. He said that any intervention by mainland Chinese forces would be “a new level of violence” that would prompt Taiwan to take a different stance in helping those seeking to leave Hong Kong.

“When that happens, Taiwan is going to work with the international community to provide necessary assistance to those who are displaced by the violence there,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Former chief engineer at airport company demanded 3 percent in kickbacks

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/12
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A former head of engineering and 14 others were charged Thursday (December 12) with corruption involving the building of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

In 2017 and 2018, Lin Wen-chen (林文禎), 58, demanded payments equaling 3 percent or NT$6 million (US$197,800) on projects worth a total of NT$200 million, the United Daily News and the Liberty Times reported.

The investigation started rolling in 2016 after repeated incidents reported by the media of leaking ceilings and floors, indicating the new terminal struggled with serious quality problems.

Prosecutors spent two years investigating the matter until they reportedly found Lin had passed on confidential information to bidders, revised budgets and misreported prices in order to favor certain companies.    [FULL  STORY]