The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed an amendment to exempt presidents from punishment over improper use of special funds prior to 2007, as scuffles over the proposal resulted in a tear in the portrait of Sun Yat-sen (孫中山) behind the speaker’s podium.
The change regards Article 99-1 of the Accounting Act (會計法), which absolves officials of liability for improper use of special allowance funds before Dec. 31, 2006.
“Special allowance funds” are those used by officials, apart from the president, for discretionary public relations purposes, such as rewards and gifts. They are categorically separate from the “special state affairs fund,” which is allocated by the president.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Usage of the funds has been a target for corruption probes into numerous officials, including former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Defendants say that the purview of the funds is poorly defined, leaving them open to accusations of corruption.
Article 99-1, proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and promulgated in 2011, was largely viewed as excluding the president’s special state affairs fund to avoid exonerating Chen.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The two fund types were separate in the 1940s and 1950s, but combined in the 1960s, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said.
DPP Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) and others therefore proposed an amendment to add the special state affairs fund to Article 99-1.
The KMT disagreed that the funds are functionally the same, accusing the DPP of trying to change the law to exonerate Chen.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
KMT lawmakers in the morning occupied the speaker’s podium to protest the bill. The podium was later retaken by DPP members.
When Deputy Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) entered at 10:05am to begin proceedings, KMT legislators threw fake money at DPP members standing at the podium, while shouting: “Fake COVID-19 prevention, real corruption, all to exonerate Chen.”
They also threw water cups that legislators blocked with signboards, one of which hit the large portrait of Sun, tearing a hole in the canvas.
The KMT caucus was unable to block the majority DPP from voting the proposal through.
With the amendment’s passage, no legal basis appears to remain for the life sentences handed to Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), or the 20-year and 16-year sentences given to former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成) and his successor, Lin Teh-hsun (林德訓), respectively.
The Supreme Court yesterday said it would handle the cases according to the law.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the two fund types are inseparable from their history.
In 1949, only Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) had access to special funds, but in 1951, access was extended to ministers and heads of the five branches of government, Ker said.
During the 1950s, special funds were granted to more officials, totaling up to 7,000, he added.
No matter what the funds are called, on the ledger they serve the same function and are a part of transitional justice, Ker said.
The New Power Party (NPP) caucus yesterday said Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) should use his constitutional authority to veto the amendment and return it to the legislature for a second review.
“While we believe that stakeholders involved in the controversies of state-secret affairs expenses in 2006 are entitled to seek justice through legal procedures, we strongly oppose the proposed DPP amendment because of the case involving former president Chen,” the NPP said.
While saying that the KMT set a bad legal precedent in 2013 by amending the same article to exonerate former KMT legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標) from allegations of misappropriating public funds, the NPP said the DPP yesterday again set a bad precedent by forcibly passing the bill at the legislature.
Additional reporting by Shelley Shan, Yang Kuo-wen and Hsieh Chun-lin
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