A group of TSU legislators alleged yesterday that a former and an incumbent lawmaker from the pan-blue camp have earned up to NT$3 billion in recent years by charging huge fees to intervene on behalf of China-based Taiwanese businessmen who find themselves on the wrong side of the law in China.
The TSU lawmakers declined to name the two men.
"A Taiwanese businessman told us that the two lawmakers charged between NT$5 million and NT$50 million per case to use their influence to persuade Chinese authorities to free Taiwanese businessmen with legal problems," Liao Pen-yen (廖本煙), a TSU lawmaker, told the Taipei Times after raising the issue during a meeting at the Mainland Affairs Council.
He said the lawmakers concerned had generated up to NT$3 billion in illegal profits.
But Liao declined to name the two, though he said they are "close to Chinese authorities."
Liao said the allegations had been made yesterday morning while he and a number of fellow TSU legislators met with MAC officials to discuss cross-strait affairs.
During the meeting, his colleague, Huang Cheng-che (
According to Huang, in some cases, Taiwanese businessmen will look for assistance from Taiwanese lawmakers who are known to be close to Chinese authorities.
Liao said that he called upon the council to investigate and to outline plans to prevent people from profiting from such cases.
Jonathon Liu (劉德勳), vice chairman of the council, told reporters yesterday that he had never heard of the allegations before.
He added, "We know that some legislators provide assistance to Taiwanese businessmen who encounter legal problems in China. But we have no way to establish whether money is involved," Liu said.
The secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation, Shi Hwai-yow (許惠祐), told the Taipei Times yesterday that if Taiwanese businessmen encounter legal problems in China, the SEF seeks assistance for the businessmen from its Chinese counterpart -- the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS).
"There is no money involved when we provide assistance to Taiwanese businessmen and their families," Shi said.
Shi said although ARATS refuses official contact with the SEF, ARATS will still deal with cases involving the rights of Taiwanese businessmen.
As to lawmakers charging for their assistance, Shi said, "I have not heard about that."
Many pan-blue lawmakers openly travel to China three or four times a year and meet with Chinese officials and Taiwanese businessmen.
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