TAIPEI: Taiwan's former president Lee Teng-hui is to stand trial on corruption charges this month, court officials said Thursday.
The 88-year-old, accused of embezzling $7.79 million from the government's diplomatic slush funds while in office between 1988 and 2000, is scheduled to appear at the Taipei District Court on October 21.
"This will be the first session in the hearing of former president Lee's case after he was indicted in June," Huang Chun-ming, the spokesman for the Taipei District Court, told AFP.
The session will be held behind closed doors as Lee's testimony is expected to involve national secrets, Huang said.
According to the indictment, Lee allegedly switched money earmarked for diplomatic affairs from a confidential account belonging to the National Security Bureau to help set up the Taiwan Research Institute, a think-tank.
Lee has flatly rejected the accusations, saying they were "invented" by the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang government to persecute its critics.
Lee, a vocal critic of the current Kuomintang government's ever warmer ties with China, irked Beijing during his presidency by promoting a separate identity for Taiwan.
He is the second former Taiwanese president to face graft charges, with his successor Chen Shui-bian currently serving a jail term of 17 years and six months on two bribery convictions, with more hearings pending.
Tensions between Taiwan and China have eased markedly since Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang came to power in 2008 on promises of beefing up trade links and allowing in more Chinese tourists.
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