Former Legislative Speaker Liu Sung-pan (劉松藩), who until recently was the nation's most senior legislator with 10 terms in office, resigned both his seat and his People First Party (PFP) membership after he was sentenced to four years in prison for corruption last week.
But Liu made the decision the withdraw from political life while in the US to observe the Republican convention, and some of questioned whether Liu, 72, would return to the country to serve his sentence.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
In 1998, during his tenure as legislative speaker, Liu used his status as the former chairman of Taichung Business Bank to broker a NT$1.5 billion loan to the Kuangsan Group, and in return he received a kickback of NT$150 million.
He was sentenced to four years in prison for breach of trust and given a NT$30 million fine -- a sentence that cannot be appealed.
Liu's downfall coincided with that of Yunlin Country Commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味), who was sentenced to 12 months for vote-buying but has also fled the country.
Liu has been described by his allies as a sophisticated politician who has a deep insight into current affairs. But his detractors are not hesitant to point out that like many old-style Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians, Liu was deeply submerged in the culture of "black gold" politics.
"He was a traditional KMT politician. He fell the way he prospered," said DPP Legislator Hong Chi-chang (洪奇昌). Hong is a veteran legislator in his fifth term and witnessed Liu during his prime years in the legislature.
"He was not someone with a leadership style of his own. He was like most other KMT politicians, carrying out the party's orders faithfully," Hong said of Liu's term as legislative speaker.
After years as a heavyweight in the KMT, Liu drifted away from his party amid a difference of opinion with former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) over Lee's intention to freeze the Taiwan Provincial Government to diminish James Soong's (宋楚瑜), influence as then government chairman.
Liu's support for Soong angered the former president, and although Liu later succeeded in persuading Soong not to oppose to Lee's move, in 1999, Lee decided to replace Liu as legislative speaker with his deputy, Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
Liu left the KMT when Soong broke away from the party and established the PFP and ran in the 200 presidential election. Liu was an integral force in helping Soong establish the fledgling party.
During his time in the legislature, Liu was a member of the powerful "13 Brothers Fraternity" (十三兄弟會), of which Wang, his deputy speaker, was also a member.
But like the Kuangsan case, the fraternity dissolved after its founder, former legislator and chairman of the Tenth Credit Cooperative (十信) Tsai Chen-chou (蔡辰洲) was found guilty of embezzlement in 1985 and sentenced to a lengthy prison term.
Although Liu and Wang almost parted ways over the speakership job, Wang retained a sense of respect for Liu and spoke well of him even after Liu's sentence.
"Liu was a very experienced legislator. He is an astute political observer who makes excellent decisions," Wang said.
"As the legislative speaker, Liu engaged in many reforms, including the amendment to the five fundamental laws for the Legislative Yuan. He also set up the interparty negotiation mechanism and improved legislative efficiency," Wang said.
PFP caucus whip Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) described Liu Sung-pan as someone who valued friendships and bonds between people, said he admired his courage in leaving the KMT and helping establish the PFP at a time when the public was not friendly toward breakaway politicians.
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