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'Not guilty' not same as 'ethical': Hsieh

Despite a Taiwan High Court ruling on Friday that found Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) not guilty of graft, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday described his election rival's credibility as "bankrupt."

Hsieh said that although the court did not find Ma guilty of embezzling his special allowance fund during his term as Taipei mayor, it confirmed that Ma had used the fund for personal purposes.

"It ran counter to Ma's previous statement when he said he used the fund for public and charitable purposes," Hsieh said. "The court ruling only reflects the fact that Ma lied about the use of the fund and his morals and credibility are bankrupt."

Hsieh made the remarks in Taipei in response to questions about a poll published by the Chinese-language China Times claiming that public support for the Ma-Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) ticket had climbed to 45 percent after the High Court upheld the lower court's ruling of not guilty on Friday.

Although the court ruling seemed to boost Ma's popularity, Ma would suffer in the long run because the not guilty verdict is not the same as saying he is an ethical man, Hsieh said.

While everyone must avoid committing crimes, a stricter set of moral standards must be applied to presidential candidates, he said.

Ma was indicted on Feb. 13 on charges of mishandling funds and embezzling a total of NT$11.17 million (US$343,700) from his special allowance fund during his terms as Taipei mayor between December 1998 and July last year.

The prosecutor in charge of the case claimed in the indictment that Ma transferred half of the public funds to his personal bank account each month after handing in his receipts, then kept that portion in full knowledge that these were public funds.

He was acquitted of the charges by the Taipei District Court on Aug. 14, but the prosecution appealed the decision to the Taiwan High Court on Aug. 27. The Taiwan High Court on Friday upheld the Taipei District Court's ruling.

Hsieh said it was a fact that Ma misused the fund, because he used it to raise his pet dog, support his family and pay utility bills and taxes.

Hsieh berated Ma for worsening the capital's economy during his term as Taipei mayor, saying not only had the gap between the rich and poor increased but also that the younger generation could no longer afford to buy houses.

"If Ma is elected president, I wonder if we will have to move to the Philippines," he said.

Campaigning in Taipei City's Wanhua District (萬華) yesterday morning for DPP legislative candidate Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), Hsieh noted that Tuan's election rivals had questioned Tuan's sincerity in pushing "Taiwanization" because of his Mainlander pedigree.

Hsieh said that Tuan's opponents are in no position to make such remarks because the DPP had not said Ma, who is also a descendant of Mainlander parents, should not run for president.

The birth place of a presidential candidate is not important, but what matters is whether the person identifies with Taiwan, Hsieh said.

"The reason some Taiwanese do not like Ma is not because he was born in Hong Kong, but because he advocates a cross-strait common market and ultimate unification with China," Hsieh said.

Additional reporting by CNA
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