Taiwan Matters!: WTF did Chen Shui-bian do?

Friday, August 15, 2008

WTF did Chen Shui-bian do?

The truth is out there

Fellow blogger Michael Turton has already blogged about the latest scandal surrounding former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), and today's Taipei Times has some details:

Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) apologized yesterday for failing to fully declare his past campaign funds and wiring a large sum overseas, but denied embezzling money from the government.

Chen said that all the money he had ever accepted was for election purposes, adding that his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), was responsible for managing his funds, including any amount left from previous campaigns.

Chen read from a written statement and did not take any questions during a press conference yesterday afternoon, leaving his attorney Richard Lee (李勝琛) to deal with the media after he left.

Chen said his conscience drove him to come out and apologize because he could no longer lie to himself or the public.

"I have done something that is not allowed by the law," he said. "I owe the public an apology for falsely declaring my campaign funding for the past four Taipei mayoral and presidential elections."

What raised the most doubt for me was that people like Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) are the ones presenting this information to the public, but today, it sounds like Chen is contradicting what he said yesterday. This makes that part about Chen's "conscience dr[iving] him to come out and apologize" sound like bullshit.

Additionally, I've heard that Chen's son and daughter-in-law are currently out of the country.

WTF?!

This will most likely present a serious challenge for the DPP in the years to come.

A-gu (阿牛) is following the Chinese-language news on this one, and he brings readers the latest info about Chen and Wu's resignation from the DPP.

Whatever happens in this case, beware of the presentation, and focus on the facts.