Black Gold? Or Just Blackened Reputations?

Meanwhile, Lin Ruey-tu (who already made a mark on the election by revealing just before the Lunar New Year that James Soong's son owns five properties in America) called a press conference to direct charges at another candidate, Chen Shui-bian. He said that while mayor of Taipei, Chen, under the guise of soliciting bids for management of a possible lottery to be run by the city, was involved in cheating a Malaysian businessman out of NT$200 million. Constant rumors about corruption and illicit money have already dragged the presidential election through the mud. But what is the reality behind these charges?

At the end of February, there were dramatic new developments in the Kuangsan case, which thereby became entangled with the presidential election. On February 21, prosecutor Chuang Shen-yuan, who is in charge of the investigation, said that Tseng Cheng-jen, who was in charge of Kuangsan, should be detained for a second time on suspicion of involvement in illegal loans from the Taichung Commercial Bank, and for massive illegal stock trading through a front company. Chuang also alleged that Liu Sung-fan, as former chairman of the Taichung Commercial Bank, was involved. That same day, Chuang led police on a search of Liu's home, and was accompanied by huge numbers of reporters in the process.

This is of course a very sensitive time in the election, and Liu Sung-fan-a former KMT stalwart-had just recently announced his support for James Soong. The Soong camp denounced the search and accused the KMT of using the judiciary to interfere in politics and oppress political opponents. Because the matter involves the independence of the judiciary, it has created quite a storm in the media, with constant discussion of whether not the judiciary is a tool in political struggles.

The day after the search, Liu Sung-fan issued a statement in which he protested Chuang's action as an election trick, and raised several questions touching on Chuang's motives. Liu noted that the Kuangsan case first broke 15 months ago, and he had not been questioned or even listed as a potential witness by the Taichung District Court until just before the search. Why the sudden change? Moreover, says Liu, the warrant did not clearly stipulate what the search was for, which could itself violate the law. Furthermore, the fact that a large group of reporters accompanied Chuang clearly violated the ethical norm that searches should protect privacy and should consider the reputation of the persons involved. Clearly, Liu concluded, Chuang was attempting to influence the election.

Chuang preferred to remain out of the media spotlight, but released a statement through a friend. He argued that the law should not go on holiday just because there's an election on. Moreover, if the opportunity were not taken to deal with the case before the election, after the election there would be even more variables, and there would be just as much speculation about motives anyway. Chuang added that the amount of money involved in Tseng's crimes totaled over NT$23 billion, but the courts have so far only been able to recover NT$2 billion or so. Is it possible, asked Chuang, that a prosecutor should not follow every thread to get the facts to light? As for the media, he said that they only got on the story because the Taipei City police sent a special detachment to assist in the search.

Liu Sung-fan's political and commercial relationships are very complex, and the fact that this sensitive moment was chosen for the search has caused many people to wonder. The president of the Judicial Yuan, Wong Yue-sheng, has come out to declare that the courts are not political tools, and that judges are independent in handling their cases. Even the president of the Taichung District Court did not know beforehand that Chuang was going to conduct the search. If Chuang committed any procedural errors, said Wong, this was only because of inexperience.

The day after the search of Liu Sung-fan's house, legislator Lin Ruey-tu-who prior to the Taipei mayoral elections in 1998 made accusations (never substantiated) that Chen Shui-bian had traveled to Macao to patronize prostitutes-called another press conference to accuse Chen of extorting bribes. Lin showed photocopies of checks and of letters allegedly signed by Chen Shui-bian as well as a flow chart and other "evidence." He said that as Taipei mayor, Chen, under the guise of selecting a firm to run a lottery for Taipei City, cheated Tan Kok Ping, chairman of a Malaysian financial group, out of NT$200 million. He alleged that Chen went through two cousins-Chen Chin-tsai and Chen Tien-fu-to extort money several times; NT$6 million was alleged to have gone into Chen's Formosa Foundation.

In response to Lin's accusations, Chiou I-jen, director of Chen's national election campaign headquarters, said that Lin was engaged in slander pure and simple. In fact, explained Chiou, the entire matter was very easily explained. Chen Chin-tsai and Chen Tien-fu used Chen Shui-bian's name without authorization to defraud Tan Kok Ping. This crime came to light long ago, and Chen Chin-tsai admitted under questioning that he had forged Chen Shui-bian's signature.

Chen Tien-fu issued a public statement calling Lin's accusations a distortion. Chen said that he did indeed get NT$6 million from Tan Kok Ping, which he said was for "consulting fees," while the check for NT$120 million that Lin held up at his press conference was for Tan Kok Ping's bid to run the proposed Kaohsiung City lottery.

However, Tan Kok Ping, issuing a written statement through a lawyer, expressed "surprise" at Chen Shui-bian's denial, and said he would ask the relevant authorities to authenticate the signatures.

These two "black gold" cases are still ongoing. Whatever the outcome, the charges of corruption, slander and oppression are making quite a sight out of Taiwan's presidential election. Voters are being sorely tested on their ability to see their way clear through all the fog. Sadly, these charges will have an enormous impact on society. No matter who wins, the biggest challenge will be for the politicians to start cleaning up their act.

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Taichung District Court prosecutor Chuang Shen-yuan's search of Liu Sung-fan's Taipei home and the dispatching of a special Taipei police team to assist brought out the media in huge numbers and sparked an enormous controversy. (photo by Chen Pi-te)