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Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian both pled
not guilty in separate cases
http://www.examiner.com/article/lee-teng-hui-and-chen-shui-bian-both-pled-not-guilty-separate-cases-1?fb_action_ids=4409182998856&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582
Lee Teng-hui pled not guilty to
corruption charges
Credits: WikiCommons/a-giau
Lee Teng-hui, former President of the
Republic of
China in-exile from 1988 to 2000, pled not guilty yesterday in Taipei
District Court to charges of corruption during his term in office.
Chen Shui-bian, Lee¡¦s successor in the exiled ROC government ruling
Taiwan, pled not guilty on
Wednesday, also in Taipei District Court, to charges of possessing classified
documents.
Although the case against the 89 year-old Lee Teng-hui, who has coronary disease
and was operated on last year for colon cancer, began in June, the Friday
courtroom appearance was the first for Lee because of his health. Lee is charged
with diverting
$7.8 million of secret diplomatic funds for the establishment of a
think-tank.
Chen Shui-bian,
also suffering from health problems, is currently serving a lengthy prison
sentence for alleged corruption during his term in office. Chen was convicted
following a controversial trial that drew international criticism. One episode
that drew media attention was an after-hours skit by courtroom personnel mocking
Chen. Charges of perjured testimony against Chen have kept the trial clouded in
controversy.
The new criminal charges against Chen Shui-bian stem from his
presidential papers stored in boxes in his ROC-funded retirement office.
Ironically, because of a pre-trial detention order against Chen after he left
office, Chen has not had an opportunity to use the documents he is accused of
possessing.
Lee Teng-hui told the Taipei court that he ¡§did
nothing wrong¡¨ and that the charge against him was ¡§totally untrue.¡¨ After
the court hearing Lee told reporters, ¡§I didn¡¦t do anything.¡¨ Lee¡¦s next court
hearing is September 21st.
Chen Shui-bian¡¦s retirement office was raided on September 25, 2008 and 1,300
documents were confiscated. A second raid, after Chen was already in jail, in
2010 turned up 688 more pages of allegedly classified documents that were missed
during the first raid. Prosecutors are just now bringing charges against Chen
over the presidential papers.
Ramsey Clark, former Attorney General, visited Chen Shui-bain last week and
called for Chen¡¦s immediate release from the harsh prison conditions imposed on
the former ROC president. Besides long hours in a tiny cell with no furniture,
Chen has been denied requested medical treatment and was drugged with a
psychiatric medication without his consent.
Hung Kuei-san, one of Chen¡¦s attorneys, told reporters before Chen¡¦s court
appearance that a not guilty plea was appropriate because the papers had never
left government offices. Hung said further that Chen could have destroyed the
documents without breaking any law and there was no evidence that Chen
transferred the documents to anyone or breached any confidentiality.
According to
Focus Taiwan News Channel, the day before Chen¡¦s not-guilty plea the Taipei
District Court ruled that Chen Shui-bian would not receive a public trial and
that testimony would occur behind closed doors.
The trials of Lee and Chen are seen by their supporters as politically motivated
as both men favor an independent Taiwan rather than ¡§one China¡¨ as advocated by
Ma Ying-jeou, the current ROC leader.
For more information on
Taiwan¡¦s unresolved status
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