Spring is drawing near. Yet James Soong's
Soon after revelations from an independent legislator that Soong's son owns five houses in the US, the Bank of Taiwan was found to have issued massive sums in traveller's checks to Soong's secretary in late 1998. As the findings involve possible violation of the Money Laundering Control Law, Soong's case is no longer a KMT family issue.
The recent discoveries of houses and a vast amount of US dollars in traveller's checks in the names of relations and friends of Soong means not only that Soong's financial affairs are a mess, but that his political credibility is shattered. What are we to make of Taiwan's political environment when a man who might be indicted at any time on charges of possible breach of trust, tax evasion and money laundering is still leading in the opinion polls? In most developed democracies being caught lying is political death: witness the fate of Gary Hart in the US. But Soong is almost as popular as ever.
This almost certainly has something to do with his camps stonewalling on giving us the truth while pleading persecution -- what Soong calls his "one-man fight against the establishment." Soong has played around with Control Yuan members, while his camp lashed out at the "corrupt government machine misusing its power under the control of the ruling party."
Since the scandal broke on Dec. 9, Soong has come up with so many different explanations that we have lost count and many people have just switched off, being unwilling to follow the twists of the plot -- which is, of course, what Soong wants. What many people simply do not see is the way Soong has been deliberately obstructionist while pledging absolute honesty. Soong "declined" a summons from the Control Yuan on Jan. 20 and Jan. 24 to appear there to explain his affairs. Then he accused the Control Yuan of being unjust to him by planning to announce the results of its investigations without talking to him first.
After declining two requests to appear before the Control Yuan, the Soong camp used a person named Yu Shanching
For many years, the Control Yuan has been seen as an institution that "only swats flies and does not fight tigers." But accusing the Control Yuan of framing people is something rare. In this regard, Soong's counterattack requires special attention.
Soong and his family may now be indicted on a number of charges. If Soong believes the Control Yuan has been "hurried, ruthless, and incomprehensible," then he should make his move now and give the truthful public explanation of his finances that he promised in early December, but never, of course, delivered. Soong's argument seems to be that he has been framed. Ten years after martial law was lifted, in the current media environment, it is not as easy to frame people as it was when Soong himself used such techniques against others during the White Terror. Soong's persecution mania would be a joke were it now so successful a ploy. But all this could be dis-pelled if only Soong would be honest about his finances. But that, of course, is the one thing he can't be.
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