The Taijimen Victims Self-help Association (太極門受害者自救會) yesterday claimed that there may have been an exchange of services between Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and Hong Shih-ho (
The association held a press conference yesterday afternoon before members of the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy were to perform at the Global Peace Assembly.
The association is comprised of former disciples of the academy who claim to have been cheated by it. Association members said the funds for the forum had been largely donated by Hong, also known as Hong Tao-tze (
He was indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office for fraud and tax evasion in 1997 and is currently on trial.
Some 1,800 people accused Hong of taking money from them while they were studying with him.
Chu Hui-ying (
She believes that the peace forum was actually initiated by Hong. However, she did not present evidence to support the allegations.
"Lu's presence in the Assembly will mislead the public into believing it's a legitimate group and this may influence the judicial process," Chu said."They [Hong and academy collegues] are attempting to erase their disgraced image by frequent contact with celebrities and politicians in order to influence their trial."
The association's claim was denied by the vice president's office, which said the funds had been raised by Lu and that it hadnot received any donations from Hong.
A Lu aide, Edward Kuo (
He said Hong was only participating in the forum because he had invited some of the foreign guests.
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