Although apologizing for harming the nation's image, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) refused to concede ground to his critics, but he offered few new insights into an alleged corruption scandal involving him, his wife and three top aides.
In a televised address carried live on the nation's news stations, the president gave a lengthy speech in which he defended his conduct, saying he had done nothing wrong.
The scandal rocked the political establishment when first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) and three presidential aides were indicted on Friday for various charges related to corruption, with prosecutors saying they had also collected enough evidence to bring charges against Chen. However, the president enjoys legal immunity to prosecution while in office.
Nevertheless, Chen said that he would step down if his wife were found guilty of corruption and forgery charges in the first trial, and would not wait until the legal process -- which traditionally requires at least two rounds of appeal before a conviction -- was complete.
Prosecutors outlined the evidence they had compiled against the president and his wife when they brought charges on Friday, saying they detected fraud and graft in relation to a "state affairs fund."
In his speech, Chen did not rebut the bulk of the details that have emerged. Instead, he said he was a victim of circumstance who was unable to provide details that would exonerate him for the sake of national security.
"For the sake of national security, I cannot disclose sensitive and classified information to prosecutors," Chen said. "I believe the judicial system will eventually prove my innocence and history will clear my name."
He claimed that a "Person A" was the recipient of the funds in question, and that he could not reveal the person's identity because doing so would put the individual in danger of being caught by China.
Prosecutors have said that they are not satisfied with this explanation, saying that they had evidence "Person A" was not in Taiwan when the receipts were submitted.
Although he offered little evidence to defend himself, Chen went into lengthy detail about a "lack of motive." He outlined four reasons that he said showed it did not make sense for him to have embezzled NT$14.8 million (about US$449,000) over the past five years.
First, Chen said that he had halved his monthly salary from NT$840,000 to NT$420,000, saving taxpayers NT$44 million (US$1.38 million) during his two terms.
Second, Chen said that former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) had had the secret "Fengtien (奉天) fund" at his disposal, amounting to NT$110 million from 1994 to 2000. Chen, on the other hand, said he had returned the secret "Fengtien fund," "Dangyang (當陽) fund" and other accounts to the state's coffers in January 2002.
If he had given up the NT$110 million fund, he asked, why would he embezzle NT$14.8 million?
Chen said that NT$42 million of the "state affairs fund" had been used to pay a lobbying firm and Chinese democracy activists, and that he could produce receipts for NT$12 million to prove it. If he wanted to embezzle money, Chen said, he could have pocketed the remaining NT$30 million.
Chen said he had used receipts to claim reimbursements from the "state affairs fund" from 2001 until this year, and the audit bureaus had never complained. Why, he asked, had prosecutors now decided that he and the Presidential Office could not do this?
Chen said prosecutors were to question Wu again last Wednesday. Wu sent a fax to the prosecutors' office on Oct. 31, requesting that it push the date back to yesterday because of her poor health.
There was no response, he said.
"Little did we expect to see the indictment so soon," he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokesman Huang Yu-cheng (黃玉振) last night said that the KMT could not accept Chen's explanation.
Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Yu Shyi-kun also held a press conference, saying the party supported Chen's remarks.
also see stories:
Presidential Office in crisis: Ma leads thousands to protest Chen
Presidential Office in crisis: Prosecutor presents details of case against first lady
Presidential Office in crisis: Indictment considered a victory for democracy
Presidential Office in crisis: Lee Teng-hui tells DPP to turn crisis into an opportunity
Presidential Office in crisis: Su tells government officials to maintain nation's stability
Presidential Office in crisis: Journey from political asset to liability
Editorial: Prompt financial reform essential
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
RSS