The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation on Friday filed criminal complaints against two former employees — former foundation CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑), who is now Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) deputy chairperson, and former deputy CEO Wang Kuang-tzu (王光慈) — accusing them of breaching trust and embezzlement.
Details of the accusations about former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his foundation’s staff have trickled out to the public and led to a wave of speculation.
Some have called the episode a “palace drama” depicting power struggles among Ma’s confidants, within the KMT, and among China’s “proxies” in Taiwan.
The internal conflict has also brought a health condition into the spotlight — dementia.
Local media outlets devoted significant coverage to dementia-related issues over the past week, including legal planning before the onset of dementia, expert advice on recognizing early symptoms and slowing disease progression, and personal stories from family caregivers.
Public attention to the condition surged after Hsiao and Wang were dismissed from the foundation and accused of “financial discipline breach” in March, as Hsiao defended himself by saying that he had always reported to Ma during his tenure, but claimed Ma “forgot many things” — hinting that his former boss was suffering from cognitive decline.
On May 23, Ma expressed his “shock and regret” over a statement issued by his wife two days earlier without his consent, and rejected her assertion that his eldest sister would handle his medical care and act as his representative. At the same time, a local court confirmed that Ma’s sister had filed a petition for a declaration of commencement of assistance.
An assistance declaration is a legal mechanism under which adults whose ability to judge and express themselves is significantly impaired, but not completely lost, due to a mental disorder or cognitive impairment (such as mild dementia), must obtain an assistant’s consent for handling major financial and legal matters.
On May 22, Ma appeared in a video with former National Security Council secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), in which he refuted reports that he might be suffering from dementia as “ridiculous.” He accused Hsiao and Wang of betraying him and said that reports about dementia are part of efforts to cover up their wrongdoings.
On May 24, the foundation’s committee responsible for investigating the allegations against Hsiao and Wang said it found no evidence of financial wrongdoing. Ma rejected the findings the next day.
King and the foundation’s acting CEO Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) called a news conference on May 25, at which they said Ma was “very sad” when he learned his family had filed for an assistance declaration.
Separately, Wang’s mother accused Ma of bullying her daughter during her tenure, while Wang had accompanied him to see a doctor and agreed to help take care of him.
The allegatioms Ma and his foundation made against Hsiao and Wang have evolved into judicial proceedings. The twists in the developing palace drama and the former president have captured the public eye and highlighted issues concerning dementia.
Perhaps coincidentally or prompted by Ma’s case, lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties have proposed different versions of a draft “dementia basic act,” which was discussed by a legislative committee on Thursday.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare estimated in 2024 that 7.99 percent of people aged 65 and older — about 350,000 people — were living with dementia. That number is projected to rise to 470,000 by 2031 and 680,000 by 2041. However, a study by the National Health Research Institutes estimated that the dementia diagnosis rate was only 65.1 percent in 2024.
Some media personalities expressed concern about the KMT’s lack of empathy its their former leader. While Hsiao hinted Ma’s condition has clouded his judgment, party Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) reportedly told an internal meeting that Ma’s family should promptly take proper care of him at home and stop letting him appear in the news so frequently.
This has been seen by many as an attempt by the KMT to distance itself from him, while dismissing him as ill and lacking the ability to make judgments independently. Some KMT politicians and supporters openly called for King and the foundation to drop the accusations to stop harming the party’s prospects in the upcoming election.
Ma’s denials and the KMT’s reported indifference call to mind the stigma surrounding dementia, which can cause people to reject or delay seeking treatment.
Hopefully, the case will raise public awareness of the issue and spark meaningful discussions on how to foster greater understanding of dementia in Taiwanese society.
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