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President to appeal district court ruling on classified materials

ROC Central News Agency

2007-10-15 12:22:19

    Taipei, Oct. 15 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian will appeal a recent decision by the Taipei District Court to reject his request for the return of classified documents seized in a high profile "state affairs fund" embezzlement case, the Presidential Office announced Monday.

    Chen's lawyers -- Chen Chuan-yueh and Hung Kuei-tsan -- are expected to announce at a news conference at 5 p.m. the president's decision to appeal the decision to the Taiwan High Court in order "to defend his legitimate rights," Presidential Office officials said.

    On Sept. 6, Chen petitioned the district court to return invoices, vouchers, magnetic records, written testimony by concerned individuals, and data related to six secret diplomatic missions being used by prosecutors as evidence in the case. All the materials are now being held by the district court.

    The president made the request on the grounds that the materials had been re-labeled as "strictly confidential" materials that should be kept secret permanently after the Council of Grand Justices confirmed June 15 the president's constitutional right to decide what is a state secret and his right to refuse to disclose such information, also known as "state secret privilege, " the officials said.

    Nevertheless, the district court rejected Chen's request in a ruling issued Oct. 5, saying that the exercise of the president's "state secret privilege" should still be made in line with the constitutional principle of balance of power and should be subject to scrutiny.

    The court ruled that the process in which the materials were proclaimed as "absolute secrets" involved "serious, obvious flaws" and should be regarded as invalid.

    The court determined that Chen lacks any reason or legal basis to ask for the return of the materials because the president's privilege to refuse to give testimony and produce evidence should be exercised before, not after, the testimony is given and the evidence submitted.

    On Chen's claim that the materials were seized by the prosecutors without a warrant, the court noted that the seizure was carried out based on a warrant issued by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office.

    Further rebutting Chen's claim that the materials were being held without his consent, the court said the invoices and vouchers were taken away with the consent of the head of the Presidential Office's accounting department, because the department, not Chen, was the keeper of the invoices and vouchers.

    Also, the data regarding the six secret diplomatic missions was submitted to the prosecutors by presidential aide Lin Te-hsun after obtaining Chen's approval, the court said.

    Pointing out that Chen did not insist that the withheld materials were state secrets when undergoing questioning by prosecutors last year, the court claimed that the president's move to proclaim the materials as "absolute secrets" only during the final stage of the trial was "aimed merely at covering up the administrative negligence and even irregularities" of the defendants.

    The court added that the move, which was not intended to protect national security or national interests, violates the State Secrets Protection Act and should be considered unlawful.

    The prosecution named Chen as a "joint perpetrator" when it indicted first lady Wu Shu-jen on corruption and forgery charges Nov. 3, 2006 after determining she had used receipts provided by others to claim reimbursements totaling NT$14.8 million (US$450,000) from the president's "state affairs fund" between July 2002 and March 2006.

    Chen stressed that none of the money went into his own pocket, claiming it was necessary to use receipts from different individuals to muster the funds to engage in secret diplomatic missions in certain countries because of the confusing and inconsistent accounting system governing expenditures by the Presidential Office.

    However, the district court ruled Jan. 19 that the six diplomatic missions cited by the president as having drawn on the state affairs fund were not secret as the president claimed, and should be disclosed in court proceedings.

    In a press statement issued late Oct. 5, the Presidential Office said that since the documents are now in the district court's possession, the district court is not a suitable judicial organ to decide whether or not they should be returned to the Presidential Office.

    According to current law, Chen, his wife Wu Shu-jen, and the president's aides Ma Yung-cheng, Lin Te-hsun and Chen Chen-hui can appeal the district court ruling.

(By Deborah Kuo)

ENDITEM/Li