Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday denied a string of accusations against him and his family members via his lawyers, insisting that his sister-in-law Hau Ying-chiao (郝英嬌) did not handle his political donations or campaign finances.
Amid a string of accusations directed at Wu and his family over their alleged involvement in a corruption scandal involving former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世), a story in the Chinese-language weekly Next Magazine yesterday said that Hau had taken a political donation of NT$1.4 million (US$46,400) from local supporter Wu Men-chung (吳門忠) in 2001 and has been assisting with the vice president’s local political affairs in Nantou. The story said Hau has been in close contact with Wu Men-chung, who allegedly admitted receiving a NT$10 million kickback in the Lin scandal. Hau allegedly called Wu Men-chung to tell him a report in Next Magazine linked him and Wu Den-yih.
In a written statement issued by his lawyers, Wu Den-yih said Hau had “helped out” at his campaign headquarters during the Kaohsiung mayoral elections in 1994 and 1998.
“She was at the campaign headquarters to help run errands and do accounting work. It’s normal for relatives to help out with campaign affairs. However, she is not my accountant and did not handle political donations,” he said.
Wu Men-chung has dismissed allegations that he had made political donations to the vice president and in a statement urged the magazine and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers to stop making groundless accusations.
DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) and DPP Central Executive Committee member Hung Chih-kun (洪智坤) have accused Wu Den-yih of playing a role in the Lin scandal and have urged the Special Investigation Division to look into his alleged involvement in the case.
Lin is accused of accepting NT$63 million in bribes from businessman Chen Chi-hsiang (陳啟祥) to help him secure a contract from a subsidiary of China Steel and of then demanding more money.
DPP legislators and the magazine have been questioning Wu Den-yih’s role in the scandal. The vice president, who countered the allegations in public on several occasions, has kept a low profile as the allegations continue, asking lawyers to explain the issues instead.
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