Sun, Apr 09, 2006 page3

• Lawmaker facing slander lawsuit

  • By Jimmy Chuang / STAFF REPORTER
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  Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) should apologize within three days for making false accusations against President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), otherwise, he will face a slander suit, a Presidential Office spokesman said yesterday.

  The Presidential Office issued the statement after the lawmaker earlier yesterday alleged that the president was also involved in Chen Che-nan's (陳哲男) embezzlement and bribery case.

  Chen Che-nan, the former deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office, was detained late on Friday night on charges of fraud and corruption.

  Chen Che-nan told prosecutors that he had "accepted money" from convicted embezzler Liang Po-hsun (梁柏薰), the former chairman of the Hsinchiehchung Construction Co.

  Prosecutors allege that Chen Che-nan accepted a total of NT$7.11 million (US$222,188) from Liang as Chen Che-nan had failed to explain where the money had come from.

  Lee Chuan-chiao held a press conference at the legislature yesterday morning claiming that Liang told him in person how he had prepared NT$1 million in cash and then asked Chen Che-nan to forward the money to the president as a political donation.

  Lee's allegations were supported by Liang's special aide Hsieh Wen-chang (謝文章), who was also present at the press conference.

  The KMT lawmaker, who is also seeking the party's nomination to run as the KMT candidate in Kaohsiung's year-end mayoral election, alleged that Liang made the "donation" in the hope that he would not be indicted.

  First lady Wu had also accepted Sogo Department Store gift coupons as a token of appreciation and had spent several thousand dollars, Lee Chuan-chiao added.

  "I would urge the president to remind himself of what happened to Chen Che-nan," the lawmaker said. "I think he is responsible for this anyway, since Chen Che-nan used to be his favorite, and now he is involved in this scandal."

  David Lee (李南陽), director of the Presidential Office's Public Affairs Department, yesterday said Lee Chuan-chiao should come up with evidence to support his allegations.

  "Otherwise, his accusations are just speculation and his irresponsible actions have seriously smeared the reputation of the head of state," Lee said, adding that the lawmaker's unfounded accusations should be sternly condemned.

  David Lee said the president had never accepted any political contributions from Liang and that the Presidential Office had no knowledge about whether Chen Che-nan had ever accepted any bribes from Liang.

  David Lee added that Wu had never spent such a sum of money at that department store. Since every coupon has a serial number, he said, it would be easy to check whether the lawmaker's accusation was true.

  Moreover, the wheelchair-bound first lady had always been accompanied by a large crowd of security officers and nurses on each of her shopping outings, he added.

  "There are no secrets about the first lady's shopping activities," he added.

  KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday urged the prosecutors to continue in their efforts to reveal the truth and resist political pressure.

  "Such corruption cases need to be investigated without any gray areas, and [the prosecutors] have to fight against political pressure. Otherwise the whole country will suffer," Ma said, adding that he respected any decision made by the prosecutors and courts, but expected them to spare no effort.

  Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
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