Executive Yuan spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) yesterday rebutted accusations by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members that Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) had worked to ensure that banking executive Jason Liao (廖燦昌) last year landed the job of chairman of state-run First Financial Holding Co and its subsidiary First Commercial Bank.
Liao resigned from both posts after he was indicted on Thursday last week in connection with charges of fraud against Far Eastern Air Transport Corp (FAT) chairman Chang Kang-wei (張綱維), which implicated several of the nation’s leading banks, including Taiwan Cooperative Bank.
KMT members held a briefing earlier yesterday alleging that Su personally endorsed Liao for the two top financial posts, despite criticism about bad debts and mismanagement when Liao was chairman of Taiwan Cooperative Bank.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
They said that Su had cast aside all doubts and questions and promoted Liao to the two plum posts in the financial sector.
Ting said that Chang negotiated the loans with Taiwan Cooperative Bank in 2016, during the transition from the KMT government to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government.
“Su could not have known of the financial irregularities relating to the case, which started in 2016, leading to a probe into bad loans at FAT and the indictments this year,” Ting said.
“The scandal did not result from Liao’s appointment as chairman of First Commercial Bank,” he said.
Taipei prosecutors also indicted Land Bank of Taiwan chairman Hwang Bor-Chang (黃伯川) and several other people on charges of embezzlement, breach of trust, fraud and contravening the Banking Act (銀行法) and the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法) in connection with the case.
Chang allegedly defrauded several banks of about NT$3.59 billion (US$121.68 million at the current exchange rate).
The KMT members also charged that Liao in 2017 was also embroiled in the financial scandal involving Ching Fu Shipbuilding Co, alleging that he extended illicit loans as head of Taiwan Cooperative Bank at the time.
There were calls demanding that the Executive Yuan remove Liao, but “Su was protecting him at the time,” the KMT said.
“The Ching Fu Shipbuilding case falls under the KMT government of then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), when then-Executive Yuan secretary-general Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) ordered state-run bank executives to his office, saying the banks should ‘provide a public service’ by extending loans,” Ting said.
“It seems that the KMT now believes Chien had no responsibility in the case, and the KMT is redirecting the burden and legal responsibility to employees of the state banks, who were merely complying with the government’s directives,” he said.
“This seems to be very unfair,” he added.
Ting said that Liao at the time refused the request by Ma’s administration for his bank to extend the principal loans, “therefore, this role was passed on to First Commercial Bank.”
“Liao in heading the Taiwan Cooperative Bank had [the bank] only participate as a joint lender, and he later resigned to take responsibility for the bad loans to Ching Fu,” Ting added.
“Liao at the time did not resign because of illegal activities or because he was indicted,” he said.
“Su subsequently appointed Liao as chairman of First Commercial Bank. That was not a problem at the time.”
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