Thu, May 10, 2001 page3

• Lee's book stirring up discussion

  • By Stephanie Low / STAFF REPORTER
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  A new book in which former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) relates his disappointment about his hand-picked successor Lien Chan (連戰), and details the stories behind the exposure of the Chung Hsing Bills Finance case (興票案) involving KMT maverick James Soong (宋楚瑜), triggered extensive discussion in the local political arena yesterday.

  While Lien, now chairman of the KMT, expressed his regret for the renewed controversy raised by the book, it also raised speculation that the book's publication was aimed to block planned cooperation between the KMT and the People First Party (PFP), of which Soong is the chairman.

  To be published tomorrow, the book An Account of Lee Teng-hui in Power (李登輝執政告白實錄) quotes Lee as saying that Lien broke his heart by asking him to step down from the KMT chairmanship "as soon as possible," and to take responsibility for the party's fiasco in the March 2000 presidential election, despite his whole-hearted effort to campaign for Lien. In addition, Lee says Lien's aides provided clues to the alleged financial scandal involving Soong. Lee, however, was mistakenly thought by the public to be the mastermind behind the allegations.

  "Lee Teng-hui's camp fully played a supporting role in order to help Lien Chan get elected successfully, but was made to take all the responsibility for the consequences," the book says.

  The author further quotes Lee as saying that "those people who are aware of this fact shouldn't have made irresponsible remarks in the aftermath of the case," in a reference to Lien's subordinates.

  Lien, who has denied ever forcing Lee out of the KMT chairmanship, said yesterday that for the KMT, the Chung Hsing case was a matter of the past and was nothing compared with the economic problems faced by Taiwan today.

  "The past relations, disturbances and enmities between politicians aren't what concern most of the people. Who cares what was said?" KMT spokesman Wang Chih-kang (王志剛) quoted Lien as saying after a meeting of the KMT's Central Standing Committee.

  Lien said Taiwan is facing a slowing economy, an event that has never occurred over the past decade, and there is now a saying circulating among the people that "Taiwan will be gone if the DPP wins over half of the legislative seats [in the year-end elections]."

  Lien said the Chung Hsing case was closed when the KMT decided not to seek reconsideration of the prosecutors' decision not to indict Soong in February this year.

  The case, in which the KMT filed charges against Soong for embezzlement and forgery, developed into a massive attack against Soong's presidential bid and was believed to be the major cause of Soong's defeat -- by a close margin -- by the DPP's Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

  Lien's decision to drop the case was interpreted as a gesture intended to create an amicable atmosphere for KMT-PFP cooperation in the year-end elections and end to the battle between Lien and Soong.

  KMT Legislator Yang Chi-hsiung (楊吉雄), who first exposed the Chung Hsing case to the public in December 1999 -- three months before the presidential ballot -- denied yesterday that Lee or Lien had given him any instruction to do so.

  Yang, from Ilan County, said evidence about the case was provided to him by a fellow countryman who worked in the Chung Hsing Bills Finance Corp.

  "This, I swear, had nothing to do with Lee or Lien," Yang said.

  New Party Legislator Elmer Fung (馮滬祥), however, said "nobody will believe" Lee's claim that he had not played a dominating role in the affair.

  "Back then, the KMT employed the powers of the Ministry of Finance, Investigation Bureau and Control Yuan [to dig up more evidence following Yang's expo-sure]," Fung said. "These government authorities heeded the order of only one person, who was Lee Teng-hui."

  Fung, a pro-unification hardliner, said Lee's motive to publish the book now is to sow discord between Lien and Soong to prevent a union of the pan-KMT forces, accusing Lee of doing so to help the DPP so as to continue Lee's "dream of Taiwan independence."

  Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交), spokesman for the PFP legislative caucus, said "it is more important to have a forgiving mind ... because it is becoming hard to judge who is right and who is wrong," Hwang said.
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