Embattled Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian refused to resign
yesterday, denying prosecutors' allegations that he and his wife
embezzled public money.
After avoiding the public for two days Chen said in a televised
prime-time speech that the corruption accusations announced on
Friday were painful and felt like a "political death sentence."
With the accusations set to fuel growing anger against the
unpopular leader and fire up a new campaign against him, Chen
struck a defiant tone in the hour-long address from his office.
He resisted growing demands to quit with 18 months left of his
second term.
But he said: "If my wife is convicted, then because the
prosecutors believe my wife and I act together, I cannot escape.
I'm willing to resign before my term is up." Chen added that he
would not appeal to higher courts if she was convicted.
His overture back-pedaled from earlier remarks that he would
resign if he or his wife is indicted for corruption charges.
Chen and his family have been dogged by graft allegations for
months but the latest scandal blew up on Friday when prosecutors
indicted his wife Wu Shu-chen on embezzlement, forgery and perjury
charges.
Wu was accused of taking 14.8 million New Taiwan Dollars
(US$450,000) from a special "diplomacy" fund between 2002 and 2006,
prosecutors said. Receipts did not account for the missing money,
they added.
The prosecutors also said there was evidence Chen was involved
but "presidents" are immune from such charges while in office.
"The 14.8 million New Taiwan Dollars we absolutely did not put
in our own pockets," Chen said yesterday. He also complained that
the regulations for the special diplomatic fund were "very
confusing and difficult to follow."
Thousands of protesters marched in the streets this weekend in
Taiwan's two biggest cities. They honked air horns and carried
signs saying, "End Corruption."
Protester Peter Huang, a businessman, said in Taipei that Chen
must quit immediately. "Chen had better admit his errors. The
longer he tries to hang on the more catastrophic the outcome will
be," he said.
Opposition "lawmakers" have planned a third attempt to recall
Chen for today. They made a similar attempt in June and in October
but failed to muster the required two-thirds majority.
The opposition is hoping that the ruling Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP) "lawmakers" will begin defecting to their cause giving
them enough votes to pass the recall measure by late November. If
the proposal passes it would set up an island-wide referendum to
determine Chen's fate.
Chen should step down immediately as he has lost the trust of
the people of Taiwan for his alleged corruption, KMT Chairman Ma
Ying-jeou said yesterday at a gathering in Taipei.
Ma urged the DPP to recognize the situation and support the
dismissal of Chen. "It's impossible for Chen to stay on if the DPP
voices (its support)," he said. "If they move to clear their own
house they'll still have a future. We don't want to see the DPP
sinking into history."
Already, the small pro-Chen Taiwan Solidarity Union has
announced that its 12 "lawmakers" will be encouraged to vote for
the recall measure.
The DPP has called on Chen to provide an explanation. Party
spokesman Tsai Huang-lang said the DPP had held "crisis" meetings
over the weekend to decide what to do but it wouldn't make a
statement until after Chen's speech.
Some DPP "legislators" have called on Chen to consider the
public demand before "the situation forces him to step down."
One senior DPP "lawmaker," Lin Cho-shui, said in a speech
yesterday that he is disillusioned with Chen and unsatisfied with
how the party has dealt with the latest allegations.
"As a DPP member, I feel like I've lost face," he said.
(China Daily November 6, 2006)