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By Mo Yan-chin /
Staff reporter Sun, Mar 31, 2013 - Page 3 The bribery allegations against
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Lai Su-ju (賴素如) in the Taipei Twin
Towers (台北雙子星) project have shaken the KMT and
severely damaged the image of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration. Lai, a close aide of Ma who had run
his KMT chairman’s office, was ordered back into detention yesterday for
allegedly accepting NT$1 million (US$33,500) as a down payment bribe from a
project developer in the bidding process for the project. The bribery allegations are
especially ironic as she acted as the defense lawyer for former Executive
Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世) in his corruption trial
last year. When the scandal surrounding Lin
broke last year, Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, expressed regret over his
close aide’s lack of integrity and immediately held a corruption prevention
forum with government officials to demonstrate his determination to tackle
the problem. In the wake of the allegations
against Lai, Ma offered his apologies twice and repeated his pledge to fight
corruption. However, his anti-corruption slogans
have ceased to be persuasive and his image as a politician of integrity has
been further damaged. A poll released in the Chinese-language Apple Daily
yesterday showed that 60.75 percent of respondents said they do not have
confidence in the integrity of the Ma administration. Only 31 percent still
professed faith in Ma’s integrity. “President Ma’s integrity was the
biggest asset in his political career, and he is losing that asset in these
corruption cases. He must recognize that maintaining his personal integrity
is not enough. Action must be taken to eliminate corruption in his party,” Ming Chuan University
professor Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建)
said. Ma defeated the Democratic
Progressive Party’s (DPP) Frank Hsieh (謝長廷)
in the 2008 presidential election and led the KMT back to power when the DPP
was experiencing a loss of public confidence amid the corruption scandals
involving former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)
and his family. Chen Chao-chien
said the corruption accusations against Lin and Lai, as well as other KMT
politicians including Nantou County Commissioner
Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿), have left the Ma
administration unable to shift the media spotlight from its poor performance
to the DPP’s perceived shortcomings. Ma’s political strength as the
leader of the pan-blue camp would be further compromised, Chen Chao-chien said. Amid the latest allegations,
concerns about Ma’s bid for re-election as party chairman emerged again after
several KMT legislators questioned the president’s capability, and suggested
that he shoulder the responsibility for Lai’s corruption case and reconsider
his plans to seek another term as party chairman. On the other hand, a number of KMT
political heavyweights voiced their support for Ma’s re-election bid.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平),
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺),
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌)
and New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) all said that Ma should
continue to serve as KMT chairman to strengthen cooperation between the party
and the government in implementing policies. “Even with support from the party
heavyweights, Ma would become a nominal chairman as he is in his second and
final term as president. The KMT will face a power struggle among future
leaders and local factions,” Chen Chao-chien said. Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒), a professor
at National Dong Hwa University, said the bribery
scandal behind the construction project, which was initiated by Ma during his
term as Taipei mayor in 2004, also damaged the public’s
confidence in the capabilities of both Ma and Hau,
and Lai’s case was another wake-up call for Ma that
he should put less trust in grassroots politicians. National Sun Yat-sen
University political science professor Liao Da-chi (廖達琪)
said Ma should strengthen his communications with party members and develop a
better understanding of the party’s structure
especially at the grassroots level. *
《Taipei Times》2013/03/31。
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