President Chen Shui-bian's
Chao, however, denied any wrongdoing or illegal act. He said he will face the investigation honestly and hopes the truth of the matter will be restored in the swiftest manner.
DPP spokesman Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) yesterday issued a statement on behalf of the party that criticized Chao Chien-ming, his father Chao Yu-chu (趙玉柱) and his mother Chien Shui-mien's (簡水綿) "elusive attitude" toward the public.
"Chao Chien-ming is a DPP member and also the son-in-law of the president. He should be more discreet in his conduct and remarks than the general public," Tsai said. "Despite this, he attended banquets with some stock tycoons and failed to explain the whole thing at once, which inevitably aroused people's suspicions."
Whether the Chao family had done anything illegal would become clear after the law enforcement agency's investigation, Tsai said, but added that their "elusive attitude" toward the scandal had damaged the president's reputation and mired the DPP in chaos.
Tsai added that the insider trading allegations against the Chao family had eclipsed the president's diplomatic efforts.
"I would like to ask the Chaos whether they could face the president and say their behavior is worthy of the president's trust," Tsai said.
DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun yesterday said the DPP would continue to work and would not abandon reforms it has undertaken.
But DPP legislative whips and legislators expressed anger, saying the Chaos were not worthy of the DPP's coming to their defense.
"I'm really mad that President Chen's diplomatic efforts and hard work to improve the economy were immediately wiped out by the Chaos' insider trading scandal. I am not willing to defend some people's desire for wealth," DPP legislative whip Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) said yesterday. "They just like to twist the law in order to obtain bribes. These people really owe us a big apology."
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (
Meanwhile, the president yesterday said he supported the prosecutors' investigation into the matter and hoped the truth would be learned soon.
The Presidential Office issued a statement yesterday afternoon, which quoted Chen as saying that everyone should be treated equally before the law and that the matter was being handled accordingly.
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling
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