As the NT$ 240 million slush fund scandal involving independent presidential candidate James Soong (
A campaign advisor to Soong yesterday said that in his two press conferences [Dec.14 and 17], Soong had said enough to prove his side of the case. Meanwhile, the ball is back in the court of President Lee Teng-hui (
"The purpose and usage of the huge amount of political funds was a secret between Lee and Soong going back to 1992; so when one of them denies what happened, the other will inevitably face difficulties proving it," said independent pro-Soong legislator Chung Shao-ho (
"If, as Lee claims, he never granted permission to Soong to establish a special secretary-general's account, how could he have remained silent and tolerated the existence of such an account for seven years?'' Chung said.
"What does it [Soong's explanations] count as a specific explanation? I think it still depends on whether a person supports us or is against us. Supporters would believe what Soong says, while those who hold a strong bias against us will do their best to seek trouble,'' Chung added.
Chu Tzong-ko (
Under these circumstances, Chu said the only way to settle the matter was to get the judiciary involved. "If the KMT finds evidence to prove that Soong was involved in illegal transactions, I believe Soong would be glad to take full responsibility. If not, the KMT should refrain from spreading rumors."
Independent legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (
Only by doing so, Liu said, "could we save both time and energy, and be able to restart our campaign."
Nevertheless, critics say that from observing Soong's campaign tactics, he has placed so much more of a stake in image-crafting than policy-making -- which means once his picture has been blemished, even if the legal system says he has never broken the law, it would be enough to destroy him.
"Soong's anti-corruption image is built on a devotion to ethical principles, which society considers to be above the law. Even though a judicial investigation might confirm Soong is not guilty, he would still not be able to justify his behavior on ethical grounds,'' said Kenneth Lin (
The unusual financial dealings surrounding the accounts of Soong's son, Soong Chen-yuan (
Soong's response to the attack has been unarguably inconsistent. At first, he claimed the money was a gift from an "elder figure" to help the younger Soong establish a new business. As the situation developed, the money in question soared from NT$140 million to NT$240 million.
Yet while Soong suspects KMT headquarters is taking advantage of Yang's attempts to destroy his clean-cut image, KMT secretary-general Huang Kun-hui (
But DPP New Trend faction leader Wu Nan-jen (
"During this process, either Soong's credibility or his image will be bankrupted,'' Wu said.
Once Soong's anti-corruption image has been damaged, Wu said, there would be a domino effect on his campaign.
"With opinion polls indicating that Soong's popularity rating has dropped from 30 percent to 25 percent, his momentum has already been affected," Wu said.
As a result of the slide, Wu said, "Soong's organizational advantage, rooted in local factions, will suffer. According to my information, some of the original pro-Soong local leaders have already planned to switch sides to Lien."
Despite the latest poll showing that the DPP's Chen is the biggest beneficiary of Soong's sufferings, Wu warns that in the long run Lien probably would gain more of an advantage than Chen.
"The shift from pro-reform voters is much faster than those who are aligned with local factions,'' Wu said.
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