In the new book An Account of Lee Teng-hui in Power (
That Lee played only a supporting role was revealed by KMT Legislator Yang Chi-hsiung (
From this we can conclude that Lee also did not approve Soong's transfer of over NT$360 million in donations to the KMT [including NT$100 million donated by Chen Yu-hao (
Soong claims to have received approval, but why didn't he turn the funds over when he left his post and give charge over the money to his successor, Hsu Shui-teh (許水德)? According to our investigation, the former secretary general Lee Huan (李煥), who is still living, never set any precedent of this sort.
The legal team made about 10 late-night visits to the KMT headquarters to discuss the evidence for Soong having forged documents and misappropriated funds as well as other important documents constituting criminal evidence. We also outlined our case against Soong, revised the case, and took care of the mandatory formalities. Finally, on Feb. 16, 2000, six days after the Control Yuan released the report of their investigation, we held a press conference and then raced to the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office to file suit. Among those who held discussions with the legal team, all were important figures related to the Lien camp.
After filing suit, I was frequently invited to the Lien-Siew campaign headquarters on Jenai Road to discuss strategies to get prosecutors moving on the case. We also once planned to hold another press conference. From this it is clear that the Lien camp was in fact the driving force behind the case, and Lee's vigorous verbal echoing of their line was of course a supporting role.
Lee's goal in playing the supporting role was to curtail Soong's rising popularity, so that he would be unable to win the election and Lien could succeed Lee. Lee also once publicly called A-bian (
Chuang Po-lin is a lawyer.
Translated by Ethan Harkness
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) has caused havoc with his attempts to overturn the democratic and constitutional order in the legislature. If we look at this devolution from the context of a transition to democracy from authoritarianism in a culturally Chinese sense — that of zhonghua (中華) — then we are playing witness to a servile spirit from a millennia-old form of totalitarianism that is intent on damaging the nation’s hard-won democracy. This servile spirit is ingrained in Chinese culture. About a century ago, Chinese satirist and author Lu Xun (魯迅) saw through the servile nature of
Monday was the 37th anniversary of former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) death. Chiang — a son of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), who had implemented party-state rule and martial law in Taiwan — has a complicated legacy. Whether one looks at his time in power in a positive or negative light depends very much on who they are, and what their relationship with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is. Although toward the end of his life Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law and steered Taiwan onto the path of democratization, these changes were forced upon him by internal and external pressures,
In their New York Times bestseller How Democracies Die, Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt said that democracies today “may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are ‘legal,’ in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. They may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy — making the judiciary more efficient, combating corruption, or cleaning up the electoral process.” Moreover, the two authors observe that those who denounce such legal threats to democracy are often “dismissed as exaggerating or
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
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