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Gloom over graft in Taiwan
By Goh Sui Noi, Senior Writer
THE irony is not lost on Taiwanese: The leader they voted into office to clean up corruption has allegedly turned out to be corrupt himself.
Wrote a disappointed supporter of former president Chen Shui-bian in the Taipei Times: Since the scandal broke, 'I have felt like a bird with broken wings falling into a deep valley'.
Mr Chen, 57, who stepped down in May after two terms in office, has admitted that his family had wired US$20 million (S$28 million) to overseas bank accounts. He made the confession on Aug 14 after news broke that the Swiss authorities had requested help from Taiwan to investigate a possible money-laundering case. It has also been alleged that US$31 million was deposited into the Swiss bank accounts of Mr Chen's son Chen Chih-chung and his wife Huang Jui-ching.
The elder Chen has insisted that he has not been involved in any graft and that the money came from surplus campaign funds from four elections that he had contested. Taiwanese law allows politicians to keep campaign donations for themselves.
Mr Chen denied having any knowledge of the accounts until early this year, claiming his wife Wu Shu-chen took care of their finances. He also pointed out that ruling Kuomintang (KMT) politicians had done the same, naming several of his political rivals.
The finger-pointing riled his own supporters. After all, they had voted for him in part because of his promise to clean up political corruption, particularly the KMT's. A China Times poll showed only 8.3 per cent of Taiwanese believed him, while an overwhelming 67.8 per cent disbelieved him. Many Taiwanese believe the former president has salted away more money than has been revealed thus far.
Said political analyst Chen Mumin: 'We do not believe there are only campaign funds.' He noted rumours that the former president had accepted bribes from some banks to ensure their survival after financial reforms were introduced in 2004. Mr Chen is also alleged to have sold government posts. He is already under investigation, together with his wife, for the alleged embezzlement of special state funds.
His sending money out of Taiwan has hurt his colleagues in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The party is in the red and has been retrenching staff to cut costs. But it has not condemned or broken with Mr Chen. Instead, the party issued a statement praising him for courageously confessing his wrongdoing.
The reason is clear: Too many DPP leaders have benefited from Mr Chen's largesse. As a political star, he was able to raise huge sums of money, which he disbursed as personal gifts to party colleagues.
Many analysts believe that if the DPP does not make a clean break with Mr Chen, it will be weakened for many years to come. Founded in 1986, the party rose very quickly, with its pro-environment, pro-democracy and anti-corruption stands finding resonance with the Taiwanese. But its eight years in power have seen its credentials severely damaged because of inept rule and complicity in Mr Chen's scandals.
All this has led to a mood of pessimism among the Taiwanese. One netizen asked if the Taiwanese lacked the ability to govern themselves, with each new leader more corrupt than the next. But some political analysts see a silver lining in the gathering gloom.
'This is a good thing,' said political science professor Huang Cheng of the Chen scandals. 'His prosecution...will give a warning to public functionaries' to behave themselves. The scandal, the first of its kind involving a former president, would speed up the legislation of 'sunshine laws', he said.
Not all are so optimistic. A Taipei Times editorial noted that sunshine law proposals have been languishing in the legislature for years. There were calls for reforms too after current President Ma Ying-jeou was indicted last year for allegedly embezzling a special allowance when he was mayor of Taipei. But a year later, nothing has been done.
The real test of the maturation of Taiwan's democracy will be whether anti-corruption laws are put in place in the aftermath of Mr Chen's money-laundering scandal.
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Gloom over graft in Taiwan
By Goh Sui Noi, Senior Writer
THE irony is not lost on Taiwanese: The leader they voted into office to clean up corruption has allegedly turned out to be corrupt himself.
Wrote a disappointed supporter of former president Chen Shui-bian in the Taipei Times: Since the scandal broke, 'I have felt like a bird with broken wings falling into a deep valley'.
Mr Chen, 57, who stepped down in May after two terms in office, has admitted that his family had wired US$20 million (S$28 million) to overseas bank accounts. He made the confession on Aug 14 after news broke that the Swiss authorities had requested help from Taiwan to investigate a possible money-laundering case. It has also been alleged that US$31 million was deposited into the Swiss bank accounts of Mr Chen's son Chen Chih-chung and his wife Huang Jui-ching.
The elder Chen has insisted that he has not been involved in any graft and that the money came from surplus campaign funds from four elections that he had contested. Taiwanese law allows politicians to keep campaign donations for themselves.
Mr Chen denied having any knowledge of the accounts until early this year, claiming his wife Wu Shu-chen took care of their finances. He also pointed out that ruling Kuomintang (KMT) politicians had done the same, naming several of his political rivals.
The finger-pointing riled his own supporters. After all, they had voted for him in part because of his promise to clean up political corruption, particularly the KMT's. A China Times poll showed only 8.3 per cent of Taiwanese believed him, while an overwhelming 67.8 per cent disbelieved him. Many Taiwanese believe the former president has salted away more money than has been revealed thus far.
Said political analyst Chen Mumin: 'We do not believe there are only campaign funds.' He noted rumours that the former president had accepted bribes from some banks to ensure their survival after financial reforms were introduced in 2004. Mr Chen is also alleged to have sold government posts. He is already under investigation, together with his wife, for the alleged embezzlement of special state funds.
His sending money out of Taiwan has hurt his colleagues in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The party is in the red and has been retrenching staff to cut costs. But it has not condemned or broken with Mr Chen. Instead, the party issued a statement praising him for courageously confessing his wrongdoing.
The reason is clear: Too many DPP leaders have benefited from Mr Chen's largesse. As a political star, he was able to raise huge sums of money, which he disbursed as personal gifts to party colleagues.
Many analysts believe that if the DPP does not make a clean break with Mr Chen, it will be weakened for many years to come. Founded in 1986, the party rose very quickly, with its pro-environment, pro-democracy and anti-corruption stands finding resonance with the Taiwanese. But its eight years in power have seen its credentials severely damaged because of inept rule and complicity in Mr Chen's scandals.
All this has led to a mood of pessimism among the Taiwanese. One netizen asked if the Taiwanese lacked the ability to govern themselves, with each new leader more corrupt than the next. But some political analysts see a silver lining in the gathering gloom.
'This is a good thing,' said political science professor Huang Cheng of the Chen scandals. 'His prosecution...will give a warning to public functionaries' to behave themselves. The scandal, the first of its kind involving a former president, would speed up the legislation of 'sunshine laws', he said.
Not all are so optimistic. A Taipei Times editorial noted that sunshine law proposals have been languishing in the legislature for years. There were calls for reforms too after current President Ma Ying-jeou was indicted last year for allegedly embezzling a special allowance when he was mayor of Taipei. But a year later, nothing has been done.
The real test of the maturation of Taiwan's democracy will be whether anti-corruption laws are put in place in the aftermath of Mr Chen's money-laundering scandal.
[email protected]
