While all the parties denied illicit tradeoffs during the confirmation vote for top government posts on June 21, observers note that it is not uncommon for lawmakers to solicit "pecuniary rewards" in exchange for their ballots during showdown votes.
On Wednesday, Chang Po-ya (
Confident of victory, the former interior minister said she turned down the offers. In the end, she failed to secure enough votes for her appointment, which politicians and analysts had painted as a sure thing.
Chang, 60, whose politically independent family wields great influence over local politics in Chiayi City, has maintained a cozy relationship with the ruling and opposition parties.
She said on Friday that those who sought to sell their votes were not from the DPP, whose legislators were ordered by their caucus to vote for Chang and all the other nominees.
The revelations have led many to focus their attention on the 13 TSU lawmakers, the tiny but critical ally of the ruling party.
That 12 TSU lawmakers did not attend the vote until 30 minutes before the deadline lent further credence to reports that some legislators approached Chang's aides at about that time to ask for money.
Dismissing the claims, TSU lawmaker Su Ying-kwei (
On the eve of the confirmation vote, the legislature agreed to let the Cabinet's Taiwan Development Fund continue investing in a construction project linked to the Everfortune Group.
The decision is believed to have accounted for the last-minute defection of former KMT lawmaker Yang Wen-hsin (
The granting of subsidies for construction works, regardless of professional considerations, is just one of the many ways through which lawmakers peddle their influence.
Years ago, KMT lawmaker Yu Yueh-hsia (
Prosecutors suspected the money was aimed at buying support for Liu's bid for the legislative speakership, as many others also received donations from the senior lawmaker.
Bribery in the guise of political donations is usually paid in cash to avoid leaving any trace.
KMT lawmaker Lin Nan-sheng (
Colleagues said Lin chose to betray the KMT because his finances are deeply in the red and banks have threatened to cancel his credit if he refused to cooperate with the ruling camp.
Bank loans in the absence of sufficient collateral are another kind of time-honored political bribery with which elected officials augment their wealth. It is said many elected officials are able to force financial institutions to grant them such loans.
"Politically cautious and astute, Chang would not make unfounded charges in light of their potential fallout," PFP lawmaker Lin Yu-fang (
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