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
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
The US has revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) authorization to freely ship essential gear to its main Chinese chipmaking base, potentially curtailing its production capabilities at that older-generation facility. American officials recently informed TSMC of their decision to end the Taiwanese chipmaker’s so-called validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing site. The action mirrors steps the US took to revoke VEU designations for China facilities owned by Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. The waivers are set to expire in about four months. “TSMC has received notification from the US Government that our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing
RSS