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New foundation will not raise funds for Ma, Su says

Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) yesterday rebutted a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker’s claims that the government would use a foundation set up to prepare national centennial celebrations to solicit political donations for President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) re-election bid.

“Everything related to the foundation will be handled in accordance with the law. We’re doing nothing illegal,” Su told reporters on his way to a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. “The 100th National Day celebrations are an important event. We should have a healthy and positive attitude toward it.”

“We have been touting our sovereignty — there is nothing wrong with celebrating our 100th National Day,” he said, adding that government agencies would help with the preparations.

Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), who heads a preparatory committee tasked with organizing the celebrations, said on Sunday that the government was forming a foundation to lead the work.

Siew said the foundation held a preparatory board meeting on Sept. 30 and was expected to begin operations next month. Siew will be the honorary chairman, while Presidential Office Secretary-General Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) will head the foundation. Tsai Shih-pin (蔡詩萍), who was the spokesman for Ma’s presidential campaign last year, will be chief executive officer.

The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday that the foundation hoped for NT$1 billion (US$30.9 million) in funding, 49 percent of which would come from the government, while 51 percent would be sourced from the private sector.

The report said that the foundation would not be subject to government budgetary scrutiny and would exist for nearly two years, raising concerns that the government may use it to raise funds for Ma, the report said.

DPP lawmakers yesterday reiterated such concerns.

DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) yesterday claimed the foundation was in fact tasked with raising campaign funds for Ma’s re-election campaign.

“Who would dare not to donate money to a foundation established by the Presidential Office ahead of the [2012] presidential election?” Kuan said.

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) dismissed the claim as “speculation.” The centennial was worth celebrating by politicians across party lines, he said.

The Republic of China (ROC) was established in 1911, replacing the Qing Dynasty and ending more than 2,000 years of imperial rule in China. The ROC government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after the Nationalists lost the civil war to the Chinese Communist Party, which established the People’s Republic of China.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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