Chen Shui-bian won the case in a lawsuit over the Longtan Land sale.
According to the park, the commission fee for Chen and Wu was included in the “ridiculous” land price. In addition, over one-third of the purchased Longtan land was designated for pubic facilities and could not be utilized. Feeling cheated, the park brought a civil lawsuit against Chen, Wu, Gu, Dayu, and other personnel involved in the scam, asking for compensation of NT$400 million.Longtime readers may recall that in another case involving the Gu (Koo) family, the family initially testified that they had not paid a bribe to Chen over the land case. They then later changed this testimony to say that they did in fact pay such a bribe.
Because the science park could not provide proof for its loss, and also because Chen and Wu were not directly involved in the negotiations of the land procurement process, the Taipei District Court ruled against the park's compensation claim.
DPPers Chiou I-jen and Michael Kau were also found not guilty in yet another embezzlement case. They had been accused of stealing diplomat funds.
It's hard to avoid the conclusion that these "corruption" cases -- a long string of which the government has lost, including Chen Shui-bian's embezzlement case -- existed in the first place solely to create the impression in the public mind that the DPP was corrupt. But I'm sure that the prosecutors are above petty party politics. I am sure my friend who noted on the ability of the foreign observers to clearly see that when Ai Weiwei is prosecuted for tax evasion in China something is wrong, but in Taiwan foreign observers somehow remain blind to the politics of the string of DPPers attacked and later found innocent, is wrong.
The article noted that the embezzlement case against Lee Teng-hui begins today. What, another case against a prominent pro-independence politician? Hard to believe, eh? I'm sure it is a coincidence like all the others.
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Daily Links:
- Is Pingtan Island a showcase for One Country, Two systems?
- Ag losses creep toward NT$700 million
- Craig Ferguson: Postcards from the Road, Part One. Lovely pics.
- Inaccurate weather warnings arouse public anger in Taiwan
- Booming economy causes tax collection to double
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.
Proven innocent against trump up charges.
ReplyDeleteStill CSB sits in jail, with 1 hour break everyday, for 100 plus days, from false accusations and flawed judicial procedures.
Thanks for reminding us we still got a long way to go.
Would love to see a blown-up version of the picture you posted, even better with comments included.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget that Ai Weiwei is an activist in a state that the foreign media pretty much universally recognizes as authoritarian. The Western media has a soft spot for people in such a situation. Chen was once an activist, but became a politician. He was also president of a country that the foreign media thinks of as "free". There is also an assumption among many in the West that relatively free states have well-functioning institutions, as if no political reform were really necessary after the holding of democratic elections. Therefore, the Western media is more willing to overlook the case of Chen and of others within the DPP. Hell, even Bo Xilai frequently gets recognized as the victim of a purge. Bo Xilai and Chen would be an interesting contrast. Bo advocates a commie revival and runs a ruthless fiefdom in China's heartland. He is purged and most observers are not unhappy about that. But they recognize the political motivations of the purge. Chen is the head of state of a democratic country. He is hamstrung in his governance by an uncooperative legislature and advocates self determination, which much of the world supports in principle if not always in practice (Kosovo, South Sudan, East Timor, etc.) Yet even if Chen may be guilty of some charges, just as Bo is almost certainly corrupt to a degree, Western observers are incapable of recognizing a purge.
ReplyDeleteAnyone can see the KMT does things the Chinese way - keep your enemies busy with frivolous lawsuits, and in the meantime, cause them constant loss of face by endless accusations of perfidy.
ReplyDelete