Presidential election 2008: 9 days to go: Ma camp denies 'paper theft' after fresh allegations

Chang Chi-tien, a professor of medicine at a Harvard University-affiliated hospital in Boston, addresses a news conference in Taipei yesterday. PHOTO: CNA

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) campaign team yesterday again dismissed allegations that Ma's wife, Chow Mei-ching (周美青), stole newspapers from a library at Harvard University when she was a student there.

Ma spokesman Tsai Shih-ping (蔡詩萍) responded to statements made by Chang Chi-tien (張啟典), who claimed to have seen a police report with Chow's English name on it.

Accompanied by Northern Taiwan Society vice president Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒), Chang, a professor of medicine at a Harvard University-affiliated hospital in Boston, addressed a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Chang said that, while working in Harvard's Yenching Library in the 1980s, he once met another library employee in Chinatown. Chang said the man, originally from Hong Kong, told him that several newspapers had disappeared from the library.

Afterwards, Chang said, other library employees had corroborated the story.

Later, Chang said he visited the Harvard University Police Department where a sergeant on duty showed him an incident report with Chow's English name and her address on it. Chang said the report detailed a theft.

Chang said the report was an official document that proved Chow had stolen the newspapers.

Asked to explain why former Yenching librarian Eugene Wu (吳文津) had proclaimed Chow's innocence, Chang replied that Wu was "not aware of the details."

Chang said he was willing to take a lie detector test, and that he was willing to go to court.

Upon learning of Chang's news conference, Tsai accused Chang and Chin of making false accusations.

"The accusations were made based only on something Chang overheard," Tsai said. "This is just unbelievable."

Tsai said Chang's ability to remember the incident after 20 years suggested he had an "incredible memory."

"The news conference was also incredible. They offered no solid proof and only took two questions," he said.

Chow yesterday authorized Ma's lawyer, Song Yao-ming (宋耀明), to file a defamation lawsuit against Chang for damaging Chow's reputation.

Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih