Taiwan prosecutors appeal president hopeful’s all-clear
Taiwan prosecutors on Wednesday made a final appeal against
not-guilty verdicts in presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou’s corruption
case, threatening the opposition leader’s campaign for closer ties with
China.
Ma was found not guilty in August of corruption by diverting part of
a special allowance to his own account while serving as Taipei Mayor. He
was cleared again by the High Court last month.
Ma and his Nationalist Party (KMT) are pushing for closer trade ties
with political rival and economic powerhouse China ahead of
parliamentary elections this weekend and presidiential elections in
March.
If the Supreme Court overturns the high court ruling, the impact of
the decision would depend on timing, as the new president will take
office on May 20. Under the constitution, the president is immune to
most prosecution.
“It’s clear from the laws that an official’s special allowance is for
public use, and there’s only one kind of special allowance,” the
prosecutor’s office said in a statement. “We hope this appeal can be
handled quickly and put to rest legal disputes over special allowances.”
Ma’s removal without an equally popular replacement would help ruling
party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh, whose Democratic Progressive
Party takes a harder line China relations.
China has seen self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory since the
civil war ended in 1949 and threatened to use force, if necessary, to
unify with the island.
Prosecutors accuse Ma of misusing T$11 million ($344,000) while
serving as Taipei mayor between 1998 and 2006. He was first charged in
February 2007 with diverting the allowance into his personal account
every month over about five years.
Ma stepped down as KMT chairman after he was charged but has always
denied wrongdoing.
“When the prosecutors were deliberating this appeal, they were
considering reasons not related to the laws,” Ma’s lawyer, Song Yao-ming,
said on Wednesday. “Some are political reasons.”
Current President Chen Shui-bian’s wife, son in-law and aides are
also fighting corruption charges as prosecutors probe Hsieh for any
history of graft.
Last week, Ma sued the Taipei district prosecutor accusing him of
using false evidence to damage his reputation.
Taipei, Wednesday, Reuters |
