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
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
RSS