In a bid to relieve tensions stemming from the presidential campaign, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that he would drop all lawsuits he filed during the campaign in the hopes of fostering a society of reconciliation.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said Ma would drop six lawsuits he filed during the campaign and would not appeal any cases whose rulings have been handed down.
The six cases are a defamation suit against his former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rival Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) regarding allegations about Ma’s special allowance fund, two slander charges against former Executive Yuan spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) over allegations Ma had been a student spy in the US and a defamation suit against DPP Taipei City Councilwoman Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) over Ma’s relations with the builder of the Taipei Arena.
Ma will also drop a defamation lawsuit against former DPP legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) and DPP Taipei Councilwoman Yen Sheng-kuan (顏聖冠) over his special allowance fund, and a defamation suit against former DPP legislator Tsai Chi-fang (蔡啟芳) and political analyst Tsai Han-shun (蔡漢勳) over Ma’s political donations, Wang said.
However, charges filed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Ma’s behalf, for example, would not be dropped, Wang said.
Ma will not drop the charges he filed against three prosecutors, Hou Kuan-jen (侯寬仁), Shen Ming-lun (沈明倫) and Chou Shih-yu (周士榆), who were members of the Supreme Court Prosecutors’ Office special investigating panel probing corruption allegations against Ma and the KMT.
The cases involve the KMT’s three-in-one sale of the Broadcasting Corp of China, China Television Co and the Central Motion Picture Corp to China Times Group subsidiary Jungli Investment Co in 2005 for NT$9.3 billion (US$290.6 million) and the KMT’s sale of the Institute of Policy Research and Development building to Yuan Lih Construction Corp for NT$4.3 billion last year. Both deals took place when Ma was party chairman.
The three prosecutors are also investigating Ma’s use of his special allowance fund during his terms as minister of justice, vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council and other positions.
Ma has requested the court remove the three prosecutors from those cases because of “bias.”
Ma was acquitted in a second trial on allegations of misusing his special allowance fund during his term as Taipei mayor.
Wang said Ma has also urged those who have made “false accusations” against him to stop such acts and to work to build a society of reconciliation and coexistence. He stopped short of asking them to drop any lawsuits they have brought against him, Wang said.
DPP Secretary-General Wang Tuoh (王拓) welcomed Ma’s announcement, but refused to speculate about his motivation.
Wang said the move would help promote reconciliation between the two parties and the DPP would drop its election-related cases against Ma.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), however, said Ma’s move was just an attempt to divert attention from his poor performance.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
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