Former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) indictment on corruption charges yesterday led political allies to react with both surprise and dismay, raising claims about political retribution against the outspoken critic of the current administration.
Prosecutors accuse the 88-year-old, still highly respected in government circles, and a former top aide of siphoning money from a secret diplomatic fund to help set up a private think tank during his presidency from 1988 to 2000.
The charges, announced by prosecutors in a high-profile morning press conference, come at a sensitive time. The presidential and legislative elections are seven months away and Lee is seen as a father figure to many in the pro-independence camp.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), which Lee helped to establish in 2000, immediately dismissed the allegations as a smear campaign designed to discredit the former president and his supporters.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was more cautious.
“The allegations show that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) re-election campaign must be in dire straits,” TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said. “It’s an obvious attempt to use the judiciary to incite political strife.”
Huang and DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the party’s presidential nominee, are expected to appear with Lee at a previously scheduled fundraiser tonight.
DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the judiciary should demonstrate caution to avoid creating the impression that it is politically biased, given the current political environment. Chen also emphasized the DPP’s lack of involvement in the case.
Lee was the chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at the time of the alleged offenses, as well as being elected president, Chen said.
“We hope the judiciary can take a consistent look at the past 50 years of KMT administration, all the way up to Lee, and determine whether all cases of potential misuses of secret government funds have been properly handled,” he said.
As the nation’s first democratically elected president, Lee counts as allies both pan-blue and pan-green politicians stretching from his time as an up-and-coming KMT official. His political stance gradually shifted toward pro-Taiwanese independence.
One sign of his widespread appeal was at a birthday celebration in January, when Lee welcomed Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and senior politicians from both the KMT and the DPP. Ma was the only key political figure left off the guest list.
DPP lawmakers were more outspoken about the case in the legislature.
DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) called it a sign of “selective processing” given that many other senior politicians have also faced allegations that they misused secret government funds.
“The courts are owned by the KMT, exemplified by the case we see here,” Gao said.
DPP caucus chief Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the court case could potentially affect the January elections and the DPP’s cooperation with the TSU, which identifies Lee as its spiritual leader.
However, KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) urged the public to respect the judicial process.
“If the defendant is innocent, I’m sure the judiciary will clear his name,” he said.
Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said the office would not comment on any ongoing cases.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MO YAN-CHIH
CALL FOR PEACE: Czech President Petr Pavel raised concerns about China’s military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and its ‘unfriendly action’ in the South China Sea The leaders of three diplomatic allies — Guatemala, Paraguay and Palau — on Tuesday voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN on the first day of the UN General Debate in New York. In his address during the 78th UN General Assembly, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr urged the UN and all parties involved in cross-strait issues to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution. “The well-being and prosperity of nations and their economies are intrinsically linked to global peace and stability,” he said. He also thanked partner nations such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the US for providing assistance
CROSS-STRAIT CONCERNS: At the same US Congress hearing, Mira Resnick said a US government shutdown could affect weapons sales and licenses to allies such as Taiwan A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be a “monster risk” for Beijing and likely to fail, while a military invasion would be extremely difficult, senior Pentagon officials told the US Congress on Tuesday. Growing worries of a conflict come as China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, holding large-scale war games simulating a blockade on the nation, while conducting near-daily warplane incursions and sending Chinese vessels around its waters. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said a blockade would be “a monster risk for the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” “It would likely not succeed, and it
IMPORTS: Fifty-four million imported eggs with a value of more than NT$200 million had to be destroyed, mostly because they expired in storage facilities Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) last night announced that he would resign from his post. Local media on Sunday reported that Chen had resigned due to controversy over the ministry’s egg import program. Later that same evening, the Executive Yuan said that Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) had asked the minister to stay on to resolve the issue. Chen Chi-chung last night made public his decision to resign on Facebook, saying that this time he would not be dissuaded. Chen Chi-chung earlier yesterday apologized for the furor surrounding the egg import program, but added that misinformation had made the problems worse. The government was
‘HARASSMENT’: A record 103 Chinese warplanes were detected in 24 hours, posing severe challenges to security in the Taiwan Strait and the region, the ministry said Taiwan yesterday told China to stop its “destructive unilateral actions” after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the nation. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) described the number of warplanes detected in 24 hours as a “recent high,” while Beijing has so far refrained from issuing any official comment on the sorties. “Between the morning of September 17th to 18th, the Ministry of National Defense had detected a total of 103 Chinese aircraft, which was a recent high and has posed severe challenges to the security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region,”
RSS