Sunday, November 05, 2006 10:02:34 PM
Taiwan Leader Pledges Response to Allegations
Pressure Builds for Quick Resignation
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, November 5, 2006; Page A27
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Nov. 4 -- With pressure building for his immediate resignation, President Chen Shui-bian pledged Saturday to respond within two days to prosecutors' allegations that he and his wife cooperated to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from a diplomatic slush fund.
The fate of Chen's presidency, which began six years ago as a crusade for Taiwanese independence, seemed to lie with his own Democratic Progressive Party. But party leaders said they would listen to the promised explanation before deciding whether to join the chorus of opposition political figures calling on Chen to step down.
Whether or not Chen holds on for the remaining two years of his second term, however, his drive to move this self-governing island closer to outright independence seemed severely compromised. Engulfed by scandal and resignation demands, Chen appears unlikely to recover the political authority to take any more bold steps against mainland China's claim on Taiwan.
"We feel Chen makes us lose face," said Chang Wan-lin, 30, who was among several hundred anti-Chen protesters rallying in front of the Taipei Railway Station. "It makes other countries look down on Taiwan."
A dozen or more members of parliament from the Democratic Progressive Party would have to abandon Chen and join the opposition in seeking his downfall to create the two-thirds majority necessary to pass a recall motion in the Legislative Yuan. The opposition Nationalist Party, which controls the legislature, has sponsored two such motions as the scandal brewed over the past several months. But it was unable then to win enough support from Chen's party members to get the required special majority.
The political landscape changed suddenly Friday afternoon. The chief prosecutor's office announced that Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen, was being indicted for embezzlement and forgery over allegations that she used false receipts to siphon almost $450,000 from government accounts used in confidential diplomatic missions. Chen himself was found to have cooperated in the corruption, a spokesman for the prosecutor said, but cannot be indicted while in office because of presidential immunity.
Ma Ying-jeou, the Nationalist Party leader and its likely presidential candidate in 2008, attended a party rally Saturday and renewed his call for Chen's resignation by Monday, saying that otherwise a recall motion would be put to parliament. But Joanna Lei, a Nationalist lawmaker, expressed doubt that Chen would step down before seeing how a recall motion played in the legislature.
"We think the likelihood of his stepping down within our timetable is zero," she said.
Lei also said Chen would have trouble coming up with an explanation that will satisfy his party faithful and the public at large. "He's had more than five months to come up with a story," she said, referring to the near-daily reports of corruption that have occupied Taiwanese politics over the past half-year.
Chen's office sent a short message late Friday to the cellphones of some journalists and political figures promising an explanation within two days. His spokesmen made the pledge formal Saturday, saying the president would study the indictment against his wife for two days and then decide what to say. Although Chen's office was not specific, Taiwanese politicians and journalists interpreted that to mean Chen would speak out on Monday.
William Lai, one of the Democratic Progressive Party's 85 members of the Legislative Yuan, said party leaders agreed at a late-night meeting Friday to await Chen's response before taking a position. Their prudence reflected disagreement on what to do, according to accounts of the meeting. But it also reflected awareness that the Chen presidency, and by implication the cause of Taiwanese independence, was riding on their decision.
In the meantime, the party leadership issued a public apology "for the involvement of the first lady and other DPP members in the misuse of President Chen's special fund for the conduct of affairs of state," party chairman Yu Shyi-kun told reporters here.
"The DPP right now is the most important player," said Emile Sheng, an independence advocate and former Chen supporter who has launched an anti-Chen campaign because of the corruption allegations.
Sheng charged that Chen had used the Taiwan independence crusade as a shield to protect himself against the accusations of corruption. As judicial investigators closed in during recent days, Sheng noted, Chen refloated the controversial idea of "freezing" Taiwan's constitution and writing a new one designed to emphasize the island's independence from China.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/04/AR2006110400457.html
Pressure Builds for Quick Resignation
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, November 5, 2006; Page A27
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Nov. 4 -- With pressure building for his immediate resignation, President Chen Shui-bian pledged Saturday to respond within two days to prosecutors' allegations that he and his wife cooperated to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from a diplomatic slush fund.
The fate of Chen's presidency, which began six years ago as a crusade for Taiwanese independence, seemed to lie with his own Democratic Progressive Party. But party leaders said they would listen to the promised explanation before deciding whether to join the chorus of opposition political figures calling on Chen to step down.
Whether or not Chen holds on for the remaining two years of his second term, however, his drive to move this self-governing island closer to outright independence seemed severely compromised. Engulfed by scandal and resignation demands, Chen appears unlikely to recover the political authority to take any more bold steps against mainland China's claim on Taiwan.
"We feel Chen makes us lose face," said Chang Wan-lin, 30, who was among several hundred anti-Chen protesters rallying in front of the Taipei Railway Station. "It makes other countries look down on Taiwan."
A dozen or more members of parliament from the Democratic Progressive Party would have to abandon Chen and join the opposition in seeking his downfall to create the two-thirds majority necessary to pass a recall motion in the Legislative Yuan. The opposition Nationalist Party, which controls the legislature, has sponsored two such motions as the scandal brewed over the past several months. But it was unable then to win enough support from Chen's party members to get the required special majority.
The political landscape changed suddenly Friday afternoon. The chief prosecutor's office announced that Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen, was being indicted for embezzlement and forgery over allegations that she used false receipts to siphon almost $450,000 from government accounts used in confidential diplomatic missions. Chen himself was found to have cooperated in the corruption, a spokesman for the prosecutor said, but cannot be indicted while in office because of presidential immunity.
Ma Ying-jeou, the Nationalist Party leader and its likely presidential candidate in 2008, attended a party rally Saturday and renewed his call for Chen's resignation by Monday, saying that otherwise a recall motion would be put to parliament. But Joanna Lei, a Nationalist lawmaker, expressed doubt that Chen would step down before seeing how a recall motion played in the legislature.
"We think the likelihood of his stepping down within our timetable is zero," she said.
Lei also said Chen would have trouble coming up with an explanation that will satisfy his party faithful and the public at large. "He's had more than five months to come up with a story," she said, referring to the near-daily reports of corruption that have occupied Taiwanese politics over the past half-year.
Chen's office sent a short message late Friday to the cellphones of some journalists and political figures promising an explanation within two days. His spokesmen made the pledge formal Saturday, saying the president would study the indictment against his wife for two days and then decide what to say. Although Chen's office was not specific, Taiwanese politicians and journalists interpreted that to mean Chen would speak out on Monday.
William Lai, one of the Democratic Progressive Party's 85 members of the Legislative Yuan, said party leaders agreed at a late-night meeting Friday to await Chen's response before taking a position. Their prudence reflected disagreement on what to do, according to accounts of the meeting. But it also reflected awareness that the Chen presidency, and by implication the cause of Taiwanese independence, was riding on their decision.
In the meantime, the party leadership issued a public apology "for the involvement of the first lady and other DPP members in the misuse of President Chen's special fund for the conduct of affairs of state," party chairman Yu Shyi-kun told reporters here.
"The DPP right now is the most important player," said Emile Sheng, an independence advocate and former Chen supporter who has launched an anti-Chen campaign because of the corruption allegations.
Sheng charged that Chen had used the Taiwan independence crusade as a shield to protect himself against the accusations of corruption. As judicial investigators closed in during recent days, Sheng noted, Chen refloated the controversial idea of "freezing" Taiwan's constitution and writing a new one designed to emphasize the island's independence from China.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/04/AR2006110400457.html
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