Soong camp adds new twist to story

A campaign official for independent presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) said yesterday that part of the NT$140 million at the heart of a major scandal was used -- under orders from KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) -- to help the DPP take part in "political reform."

Soong kept a low profile yesterday, but one of his campaign officials, who asked to remain anonymous, put forth a new story about how Soong used part of the NT$ 140 million that mysteriously wound up in bank accounts belonging to his son and sister-in-law.

The official said that seven years ago, Lee had to seek assistance from opposition parties -- especially the DPP -- to help push for democratic reforms.

Lee, according to the Soong campaign official, had once declared a "party competition theory" in a KMT Central Standing Committee meeting, saying the KMT should feed opposition parties with some "milk" to help them grow strong.

The logic behind this scheme was that Taiwan would then witness the emergence of a mature multi-party political system, the official said.

"So the purpose of the NT$140 million included taking care of former President Chiang Ching-kuo's (蔣經國) family members and building a relationship with DPP leaders," the official said.

But the DPP leaders immediately disputed this explanation, saying Soong's strategy was to confuse voters by pulling all of his rivals into the scandal.

"Soong knows that people will not believe what he said on Tuesday about using the NT$140 million to take care of Chiang's family," DPP legislature caucus leader Chen Chi-mai (3祠靾?/CHINESE>) said, adding that Soong can see his popularity rating plummeting.

"Therefore, Soong resorts to a smear campaign by accusing other candidates," Chen said.

DPP lawmaker Chang Chung-hung (張俊宏), noting that he was DPP secretary-general back in 1992, said the DPP never took any money from the KMT.

"How did Soong get that money from the KMT? And is there any other dirty money in Soong's personal bank accounts? Soong should tell people the truth, and not continually cover up the facts," Chang said.

DPP Organization Development Department director Jimmy Kuo (3◤T銘) said that Soong and the KMT now attack each other with dirty accusations and recent polls revealed that some of both sides' supporters have shifted to the DPP. That is why Soong's campaign turned its attention to the DPP, he said.

Four polls released yesterday indicated that Soong's support ratings fell to between 24 and 29 percent, while DPP presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian's (3?糮?/CHINESE>) support ratings stood at between 19 and 31 percent.

Lawmakers who helped Soong in his signature drive admitted yesterday that support for their candidate was eroding with alarming speed.

"We found that some supporters may have lost their confidence in Soong, especially in central and south Taiwan," said Liu Wen-hsiung (劉?撊?/CHINESE>), a former KMT lawmaker who now campaigns for Soong.

Meanwhile, the KMT's presidential candidate, Lien Chan (3s戰), said the money scandal is a legal question and should be resolved through the legal process.

Chen Shui-bian said that if he is elected, he would investigate KMT-run businesses and assets and return to the people what belongs to them.

"This scandal between Soong and the KMT has shown that the NT$140 million is only a small part of the KMT's `black-gold' regime," Chen said.