James Soong, chairman of the now all but non-existent People First Party, was querulously peeved in Shanghai the other day when he was queried by the inquisitive press if he had taken back the NT$248 million he had deposited with the Taipei district court. He was in Shanghai to attend the opening of the World Exposition. “Don't wash Taiwan's dirty linen abroad,” he barked at his questioners. He was wrong, for it's not Taiwan's dirty linen but his own and probably that of former President Lee Teng-hui's as well.
Well, it's truly dirty linen. Now let us wash it in public.
It all started 11 years ago when Soong was secretary-general of the Kuomintang, of which Lee doubled as chairman. The latter asked the former to disburse a very handsome amount of money as the party's war chest, as well as for expenses incurred in providing for the bereaved family of former President Chiang Ching-kuo. Lee became the accidental president when Chiang died in 1987 and felt duty-bound to see to it that the surviving Chiangs were taken good care of.
Soong, who had worked at one time as Chiang's English interpreter, opened an account with the Chung Hsing Bills Finance Company and deposited the money in question. He fell out with Lee before the presidential election of 2000. Lee backed Lien Chan for president and Soong bolted the then ruling party to run as an independent. Soong was a frontrunner in the lead-up to the election, and Lee, who hated to see Soong win, sued his rebelling former protege for embezzlement. Soong lost the election. But for what has come to be known as the Hsing Bills scandal, Chen Shui-bian wouldn't have been elected president.
Taipei district prosecutors had to investigate the scandal, of course, after Lee had initiated litigation. To prove his innocence, Soong made a deposit with the district court. The deposit could only be withdrawn if Lee agreed to let Soong have it. After prosecutors had dropped all charges against Soong, Lee extended an olive branch.
The former president, who was expelled by the Kuomintang after inaugurating the Taiwan Solidarity Alliance, agreed to let Soong get the money back from the district court. Soong said he had told President Ma, who now doubles as chairman of the Kuomintang, over the phone that he would take the money back. But the Kuomintang claimed ownership of the money and Ma demanded that it be returned to its rightful owner. Soong rejected the demand outright and demanded that the Kuomintang produce proof that the money belonged to the party that is now back in power. He also demanded that Ma confirm receiving his telephone call.
The trouble with Soong is that he has to refute himself to prove the money is his own. For one thing, he designated “Kuomintang chairman Lee Teng-hui” as the recipient of the money he deposited with the district court should he be convicted of embezzlement. More than once Soong went on record as saying “the money belongs to the Kuomintang.” When the National Taxation Administration tried to tax his “extra income,” he refused to pay, stating as an excuse: “The money is the Kuomintang's money; why should I pay tax on it?” We don't believe he has forgotten what he said in public.
Or does the money belong to the People First Party? That's out of the question.
The party was not yet born when the scandal came to light. As a matter of fact, Soong formed his party after he had narrowly lost the presidential race ten years ago. The party fared very well in the subsequent legislative elections but almost all of its lawmakers returned to the Kuomintang from which they had split to follow the leader.
Incidentally, Lee isn't chairman of the Taiwan Solidarity Union. Unlike Soong, who is the party chairman, Lee is the spiritual leader of his political party which holds no seats in the Legislative Yuan at present.
It may be very difficult, if not next to impossible, for either Soong or Lee to clarify who rightfully owns this dirty linen. But the Kuomintang is right in insisting that the money shouldn't change hands just with a nod from the founder of the Taiwan Solidarity Union. Ma and his ruling party want to make the dirty linen clean by washing it in public.
The best thing the two parties to the dispute could do is to bury the hatchet and agree to give the money to charitable organizations that need donations to carry on their good work.
On the other hand, Lee might offer his good offices. He should have told Soong before letting the latter withdraw the deposit from the court that it must be donated to charity. It's not too late for the former president to mediate. All he has to do is urge Soong to give away the money.
If he doesn't resort to friendly persuasion, people may have legitimate doubts that he might have made a deal with Soong to keep the dirty linen unwashed. That won't reflect credit on either of the once admired political leaders of Taiwan.
〈本文僅供參考，不代表本會立場〉
（本文刊載於99.05.09，The China Post）
周家華
(
2019年1月11日 08:37
)
王順民
(
2024年10月11日 15:05
)
李正修
(
2月27日 13:51
)
