TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan High Court summoned former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and two former Central Investment Company (中央投資公司) executives to appear Friday (Sept. 5) at 9:30 a.m. for the contentious "KMT's Three Media Companies Case" (三中案). The court is conducting the second trial review of the high-profile case involving former company Chairman Chang Che-shen (張哲琛) and former General Manager Wang Hai-ching (汪海清). The politically sensitive case has drawn sustained public attention for years across Taiwan's judicial system.
The case stems from Broadcasting Act amendments requiring political parties, government, and military to exit media by December 26, 2005. Ma, then Kuomintang chairman, authorized Central Investment Company to sell China Television (中視), Broadcasting Corporation of China (中廣), and Central Pictures Corporation (中影) stakes plus party headquarters. Taiwan's Special Investigation Division (特偵組) investigated extensively, closing the case in 2014 for lack of evidence before reopening in 2016.
Taipei District Court acquitted Ma, Chang, Wang, and others in October 2021, but former legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) received sentences totaling four years for breach of trust and Business Accounting Act violations. Tsai was permitted to pay fines instead of serving prison time, while authorities confiscated NT$280 million (around US$9.18 million) in alleged illegal gains. Prosecutors, unsatisfied with the district court verdict, appealed the decision to Taiwan High Court, where the entire case awaits final judgment. ◼