By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
A controversial bookmaker, who was alleged to have had a meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in September, placed front-page ads in four major Chinese-language newspapers yesterday, saying he never made political donations to anyone.
In the ads, Chen Ying-chu (陳盈助) placed two short messages, saying he had never made political donations and urging the media to stop implicating him in political affairs.
Next Magazine in its Nov. 16 edition claimed that the Chiayi-based bookmaker met with Ma, who is seeking re-election in January, in an encounter arranged by Chiayi Mayor Huang Ming-hui (黃敏惠) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), to discuss campaign affairs.
While Ma has denied the Next Magazine report, he admitted having met Chen previously in 2008 and in 2009.
Chen’s name has remained in the news in recent days, after KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said on a TV political talk show on Wednesday that Chen had helped to arrange a trip to the Philippines by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in June and had also treated several DPP members to free trips.
The DPP and KMT have been accusing each other over political connections with Chen in the past week, with the opposition party accusing the president of associating with a bookmaker and then filing lawsuits against Chiu for defamation.
DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) said in the Legislative Yuan yesterday that he did not ask Chen Ying-chu to help arrange Tsai’s Manila visit.
Chen Ming-wen, who served as Chiayi County commissioner from 2001 to 2009, nonetheless admitted that Chen Ying-chu was a business associate who worked assiduously to put his mafia image to rest by doing charity work and helping the needy.