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Taiwan leader's ailing wife absent as trial continues
2006-12-22
The wife of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian has been absent from court as her trial on corruption charges continued following her collapse last week at the start of proceedings. The wheelchair-bound Wu Shu-chen asked to be excused from the second hearing after doctors at the National Taiwan University Hospital, where she is being treated, advised her not to go, a spokesman for the Taipei district court said Friday. The hospital recommended that Wu, paralysed from the waist down, seek additional treatment due to low blood pressure, which could again make her lose consciousness in court. Inside the courtroom, the trials of the three presidential aides indicted with Wu last month continued. Wu's lawyers failed to halt the proceedings after chief judge Tsai Shou-chun rejected their claim that the trial violated the constitution, which offers immunity to the country's president. President Chen has also been accused of involvement in the case. He is suspected of collaborating with his wife to embezzle 14.8 million Taiwan dollars (450,000 US) from state funds for personal use. The court session ended around 14:30 pm (0630 GMT) and a new hearing was scheduled for Friday next week, despite the possibility that the ailing Wu could be absent again. "We respect the court's expectation that every defendant should attend court and we would cooperate as much as we can, but doctors should decide whether she can attend or not," said Wu's lawyer, Ku Li-hsiung. Dozens of Wu's supporters from a pro-independence group gathered earlier Friday outside the courthouse to protest what they called insulting treatment of the first lady by a "pro-China prosecutor". They alleged that Chang Hsi-huai, one of the prosecutors handling the case, was biased following media reports that Chang had offered money as a scholarship sponsor to several universities in Beijing. Wu -- the first wife of a Taiwanese leader to be prosecuted -- last Friday pleaded not guilty to the corruption and forgery charges brought against her for making illegal claims from state funds. She was rushed to hospital after passing out during a court recess on the opening day of the high-profile trial. The chief judge said Wu was allowed to bring a bed to the next court hearing if she needed it. But the presidential office rejected the offer and politicians from Chen's ruling Democratic Progressive Party condemned the gesture as "inhuman". The embattled Chen, who escaped immediate prosecution because of presidential immunity, has pledged to resign if Wu is convicted. The president has admitted using false receipts to claim money from a fund set aside for affairs of national importance, but insisted it was used for "secret diplomatic missions" that he could not disclose. Prosecutors, however, found that at least 1.5 million dollars was spent on diamond rings and other luxury items for his wife. The opposition said it suspected a lot of the money went into the pockets of the president and his family. The president has insisted he would stay until his second and final term ended in May 2008, despite mounting calls for his resignation over a string of graft scandals implicating himself and his family. His son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming, is on trial for insider trading and a verdict is expected later this month. Last month, Chen survived a third parliamentary vote aimed at ousting him after the opposition failed to garner enough support. Two earlier recall motions failed to pass, in June and October.
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