“The judiciary has been tainted by politics. If Ma were to grant an amnesty, it would be nothing but a political gesture. If President Chen accepted that, it would damage the DPP and the president himself,” Chen Shih-meng said.
Asked for comment, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) proposed amending the Accounting Act (會計法) to put an end to the ambiguity surrounding the special allowance fund.
Wang said the judicial system could be paralyzed if the Ministry of Justice attempted to investigate all former and current government officials over their use of special allowance funds.
“We can amend the law to resolve this historical glitch once and for all ... In other words, we can amend the law to shield [government chiefs] from any criminal punishment and introduce new regulations [on how the funds should be used in future],” he said.
Wang said that although both the pan-blue and pan-green camps had not reached any consensus regarding amendments to the Accounting Act, they had agreed to the need to amend the law.
When asked for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said he strongly opposed granting an amnesty across the board.
“Why should Chen Shui-bian, Wu Shu-jen, Annette Lu, Mark Chen and Yu Shyi-kun, all of whom enjoy privileges, receive an amnesty?” he asked. “I am strongly against the amnesty proposal. If [Ma] grants them amnesty, I’ll flip.”
The DPP legislative caucus yesterday said that its members would support Wang’s proposal.
“That’s a great idea. With such a law in black and white, government heads who receive special allowance funds would have some rules to follow,” DPP legislative caucus deputy whip Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) told a press conference yesterday morning.
Pan was referring to a conversation between State Public Prosecutor-General Chen Tsung-ming (陳聰明) and Wang, during which Wang suggested amending the law and Chen Tsung-ming recommended a new law with clear regulations.
Chen Tsung-ming talked to Wang after Ma’s not-guilty verdict was announced.
Pan said Ma’s case was controversial because there was nothing to confirm to the public that Ma was innocent.
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