Sat, Oct 11, 2008 page3

• INTERVIEW: I am not a channel for money laundering: Wu Li-pei

  • By Tsou Ching-Wen / STAFF REPORTER
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  On Wednesday, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is under investigation for alleged money laundering, said he had donated US$1.91 million to “someone of great seniority” to be used to promote Taiwan’s diplomatic relations.

  In an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) on Thursday, former presidential adviser Wu Li-pei (吳澧培) revealed that Chen contacted him earlier this year and said he was willing to provide capital “to help do something toward the expansion of Taiwan’s diplomatic relations.”

  Wu, a long-time independence advocate, said this gesture had moved him and he therefore agreed to do what he had been asked.

  

  Former presidential adviser Wu Li-pei speaks at an event in Taipei on Jan. 27 last year.

  PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES

  Wu said in the interview that he was very surprised that Chen had since exposed him, since this was certain to create problems for him in his ongoing efforts.

  Saying that he has worked for the Taiwanese cause his whole life, Wu said he never talked about how much he had done and donated. He did not want people to start questioning his actions from a personal or moral perspective and therefore wanted to take the chance in the interview to clearly explain everything, adding that if there was anything investigators found unclear he could of course provide further explanation.

  Wu said that on Feb. 2 this year, an official at the Presidential Office called him and gave him the telephone number of Chen’s official residence, saying that Chen wanted him to call because he wanted to meet with him.

  When Wu called, Chen said he wanted him to come over, but Wu was attending a relative’s wedding at the time. When Chen asked him to come over after the wedding, Wu felt that was too late, so Chen asked him to come the next morning.

  Wu said when they met the next day, a Sunday, Chen told him: “I am constantly thinking about what to do after I step down. [Former] president Lee [Teng-hui (李登輝)] is interfering in domestic politics, but I will definitely not do that.”

  Chen then said he wanted to do something in connection with diplomacy, whether it be building a network of people friendly to Taiwan or to facilitate future foreign visits, Wu said in the interview.

  “Someone has donated a sum of money and hopes that it can be used in support of foreign affairs. I trust you and I want to give it to you to be used at your discretion,” Wu quoted Chen as saying.

  Wu said that this moved him deeply and that he immediately agreed. He said that for many years he had worked hard to dismantle the US’ “one China” policy and if possible he wanted to direct all his efforts toward this goal.

  Chen said that he completely agreed.

  When asked about the transfer of money, Wu said he told Chen on that day that US controls on capital were very strict, that the US was also very sensitive to flows of large sums of money in and out of the country and that this may be a hindrance to the work they wanted to do. He suggested to Chen that it would be better to place the money outside the US and said he already had funds at his disposal in the US that he could use when required.

  This way, the money would not have to come from Taiwan, nor would it have to be sent to the US. He also suggested that it would be more appropriate if the money were transferred in sums of less than US$500,000.

  Wu said he then gave Chen four bank account numbers, two different names with two accounts each. Neither of the accounts was in Wu’s name, but he had access to all the accounts.

  Wu said he heard nothing more about the issue until Feb. 22, when he received information from an overseas bank saying that US$1.91 million had been deposited there.

  Since the original amount had been US$2 million, he called Chen to confirm the receipt, but that the amount was short.

  Chen told Wu he was aware of the discrepancy.

  Wu said he was very moved when he and Chen first discussed the issue and that he told his friend Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) about the idea.

  Peng said Taiwan’s international status really needed a push, Wu said.

  Wu said everyone he spoke to thought it was a good idea and that he had never thought it would lead to so much trouble.

  During the first meeting at Chen’s residence, Wu said he had told Chen over and again that secret diplomacy was a very sensitive matter, stressing that only the two of them could know about it and that it must not be made public.

  Wu added that the reason for his worries was that if it were made public, his efforts would become more difficult and that was the reason he hadn’t said anything until now.

  Therefore, he said, he was very surprised to hear Chen’s remarks on Wednesday.

  Wu ended the interview by stressing that as long as it were for the good of Taiwan, he would be willing to offer his money and effort and would continue to do so.

  “Accusations of being a ‘channel for money laundering’ are a matter of serious libel, and I will not sit idly by and take it,” Wu said.
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