Taipei, Aug. 26 (CNA) Taiwan's government hopes the U.S. will take a "flexible approach" in a case involving AU Optronics Corp. (AUO) after three active and former top executives were banned from leaving the U.S., a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said.
"The case is now in the middle of the legal process and the Taiwan government does not intend to interfere with the U.S. justice system. According to the principle of presumed innocence, however, we hope that the U.S. takes a flexible approach when dealing with this case, " Harry Tseng, director-general of the MOFA's Department of North American Affairs, said Thursday at a media briefing.
The three executives, along with AUO, its U.S. subsidiary, and other senior managers, were indicted in June by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly conspiring to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels from Sept. 14, 2001 to Dec. 1, 2006.
The executives were barred from leaving the U.S. and told to remain in California by a court in San Francisco on Aug. 19 after they appeared for a hearing on the case.
AUO CEO Chen Lai-juh and AUO Vice Chairman Chen Hsuan-bin remain in San Francisco to manage AUO's business interests there, while former AUO Executive Vice President Hsiung Hui returned to his residence in San Diego.
Tseng said that the fact the executives traveled to the U.S. to plead their cases showed they were not aiming to avoid court appearances.
While the executives can still manage business within the U.S., a travel ban and a long legal process could affect their business operation, he said.
The ministry has been trying to consult the U.S. administrative branch on the case as well as contacting officials from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) , the U.S. representative office in Taiwan in the absence of official bilateral diplomatic ties, Tseng said, but there was not much the government could do.
The ministry learned about the case as early as July and AUO has sought legal consultation from the ministry, he added. (By Chris Wang) enditem/bc