Legality of special fund case disputed by greens

The pan-green parties submitted a request for a constitutional interpretation to the Judicial Yuan yesterday on the legality of prosecutors questioning President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) over the "state affairs fund" case.

Backing the request were 81 Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers -- out of a total of 84 -- and two lawmakers from the Taiwan Solidarity Union.

Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Fan Kuang-chun (范光群) yesterday said that the judicial body would deal with the case objectively.

A petition calling on the Council of Grand Justices of Judicial Yuan to issue an injunction to suspend the trial of first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) and three top presidential aides over the case was also included in the request.

If the petition were approved, the trial of Wu on charges of forgery and corruption for allegedly using fraudulent receipts to claim funds totaling NT$14.8 million (US$450,000) would be suspended.

The trial starts today.

"We filed the request to protect the dignity of the presidency and the integrity of the Constitution, rather than the president himself," DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said.

Chen is also suspected of graft and forgery in the state affairs fund case, but he can not be charged while in office due to presidential immunity granted in Article 52 of the Constitution.

The article reads: "The President shall not, without having been recalled, or having been relieved of his functions, be liable to criminal prosecution unless he is charged with having committed an act of rebellion or treason."

Prosecutors said in the indictment that Chen was a principle offender in the case and will face prosecution once his term ends.

Meanwhile, a report in yesterday's Chinese-language China Times said that DPP lawmakers were arguing that the president enjoys permanent immunity.

"We regret that the China Times took a distorted view of our argument. Its reporters didn't represent our words in context," DPP Legislator Wu Bing-ray (吳秉叡) said.

Wu said that not all the president's acts are under the protection of permanent immunity.

"Of course corrupt acts are excluded," he said. Wu said the article should be interpreted in two parts.

"For one thing, the president should receive permanent immunity and substantive immunity for his official acts, even after he leaves office," he said.

"For the other, the president should receive litigation immunity and temporary immunity from non-official acts, official acts, and acts performed prior to his presidency while he is in office," Wu said.

Therefore, the prosecutors' questioning of the president is unconstitutional, and thus the information that prosecutors gathered from the interrogation could not be used as evidence in court, Wu said.

Nevertherless, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers condemned pan-green counterparts' view of "permanent immunity," as expressed in yesterday's newspaper report.

"How dare DPP lawmakers argue that the president has permanent immunity?" KMT Legislator Chu Feng-chi (朱鳳芝) said.

"Are you treating the president as an emperor? Why can't a president involved in corruption be questioned?" Chu said.

In other news, former presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) weighed in on the issue yesterday, saying that it was too late for the DPP to file for a constitutional interpretation.