Mon, Aug 18, 2008 page3

• ANALYSIS:Scandal is an opportunity: analysts

  • By Ko Shu-Ling / STAFF REPORTER
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  The controversy surrounding former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) overseas funds has highlighted the question of elected officials’ personal finances and problems caused by transitional justice, analysts said.

  Chen caused a political shockwave on Thursday when he admitted to not fully declaring his past campaign funds and wiring a large sum of money overseas. His office later said the amount was more than US$20 million.

  While apologizing for bringing disgrace on his party, Chen denied he had embezzled money from the government or engaged in money laundering. He claimed he knew nothing about his personal finances until early this year when he learned that his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), had wired some of the funds left from his previous four election campaigns to overseas accounts.

  Chen’s announcement came a day after the Chinese-language Next Magazine reported that Wu had remitted NT$$300 million (US$9.6 million) overseas through various bank accounts belonging to her daughter-in-law and other members of her family. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later confirmed it had receive a request from Swiss federal authorities for assistance in obtaining information about Chen, Wu, their son and daughter-in-law.

  During his press conference on Thursday, Chen cast doubt on the campaign funding declared by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) and by his election rivals in the previous two presidential elections. Chen also said that People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) had transferred money abroad, adding it was well known that former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) had investments and property overseas.

  Analysts agreed that the Chen incident highlighted the problems caused by a country’s transition from an authoritarian system to a democracy.

  Using the former president’s controversial “state affairs fund” as an example, Soochow University professor of political science Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that each president had his way of using the discretionary fund, adding that it was important that a mechanism be found to make the system work better and more effectively.

  Chen was named a codefendant in the “state affairs fund” case after completing his presidential term in May.

  While Chen had immunity from prosecution while in office, Wu was charged with corruption and forgery in November 2006 for using receipts provided by others to claim reimbursements totaling NT$14.8 million from the fund between July 2002 and March 2006.

  Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權), chairman of the Taipei Society, said it was a good idea and only fair to launch a probe into the campaign funding of former presidential candidates.

  Chan, however, said it was pathetic for a former president to call a press conference to defend himself.

  Antonio Chiang (江春男), political analyst and former editor-in-chief at the Taipei Times, said that while there was a lesson to be learned from Soong’s Chung Hsing Bills Finance scandal, Chen should have known better than to make the same mistakes as his former election rival.

  “No democratic country would condone corruption, embezzlement or money laundering, not to mention when such crimes are committed by the head of state,” he said.

  The Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that Soong must pay NT$2.82 million in back taxes and fines after depositing US$480,000 in his son’s bank account in the US. The money was unused funds from Soong’s campaigns in 1995 and 1997 for Taiwan provincial governor and counted as his personal property.

  Analysts agreed that the Chen case raised the issue of personal finances of elected officials and candidates for office.

  Chiang said that some politicians overtly flout the law despite legislation regulating political donations and leftover campaign funds.

  Under campaign law, candidates are required to report all campaign spending, although until the Political Contribution Act (政治獻金法) came into force on March 31, 2004, they were not required to report all political donations. While elected officials are required by law to declare their property once they register as candidates, Chiang said that as the law is not fully implemented, some candidates either lie about their assets or put part of their property into a trust.

  Lo called for a complete overhaul of the laws to prevent politicians from exploiting legal loopholes.

  “It may be a crisis for the DPP and its supporters, but it is a good opportunity to examine the legislation,” he said. “It is also a good opportunity to see whether prosecutors have used this incident to engage in political maneuvering and secure political points.”
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