The controversy surrounding independent presidential candidate James Soong's (
It was this NT$100 million, he said, which had been spent on taking care of the family of former President Chiang Ching-kuo.
Since the scandal broke, Soong has changed his story several times. After stalling for nearly a week on revealing the source of NT$140 million supposedly held in his son's account, which he said had come from an "elder," he held a press conference on Tuesday to name the "elder" as none other than President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
The funds, NT$146 billion to be precise, according to Soong, had been earmarked by the KMT for taking care of the Chiang family and "other party matters" as specified by President Lee. However, he also claimed that none of the money had been spent, which brought derision from critics who questioned how it was that he had managed to perform his duties.
Two days ago, Soong's camp switched the focus of the controversy from taking care of the Chiang family to dealing with the "other party matters," claiming part of the NT$146 million had been intended for funding opposition parties, particularly the DPP. But still, the question remained of why the original funds remained intact.
Yesterday, Soong said that the total amount of the funds under his control had actually been NT$240 million, with the additional NT$100 million coming from the KMT-controlled Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC, ??國廣1/4?膝q). And it was this money, he said, which had been used to care for the Chiang family.
The outstanding NT$146 million, he said, had been donated by private companies to the KMT, which had given the money to Soong to fund the so-called "other activities" specified by President Lee. Soong's camp said that under Lee's instruction, Soong was supposed to have used this money for fostering the development of the opposition.
Former BCC chairman Tang Pan-pan (
Soong made his latest claims public at a campaign rally in Nantou County yesterday, and then held a late-night press conference to affirm that he had evidence to back up his story.
Soong said that he and President Lee were the only two people who knew about the exact details of the financial dealings, despite the fact that Lee has denied this and accused Soong of talking complete nonsense.
Over the course of seven years, according to Soong, about NT$91 million has been spent. The remaining amount, plus interest totaling NT$4.7 million, remains in the account of his sister-in-law, Chen Pi-yun (
The reason why his explanation had become so convoluted, Soong said, was because it had taken time to sort out the exact details of the various accounts' records and to overcome his personal reservations before disclosing all the facts at his disposal.
His latest explanation drew the expected backlash from the KMT and opposition parties.
KMT spokesperson Huang Hwei-chen (
Hsu Li-teh (
The Ministry of Finance and the KMT's Businesses Management Committee have commenced investigations into their account records relating to the controversy.
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