By Mo Yan-chih and Chris Wang / Staff Reporters
Denying President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had met privately with bookie Chen Ying-chu (陳盈助) in Chiayi in September, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary--General Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) yesterday threatened to take legal action against Next Magazine if it fails to clarify the story and offer an apology within three days.
The Chinese-language magazine reported on Wednesday that Ma held a closed-door meeting with Chen in Chiayi on Sept. 10 when campaigning in the city, adding that Ma has met Chen, who is allegedly in charge of major underground betting activities related to local elections, three times and received a donation from Chen of NT$300 million (US$9.9 million).
Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) on Wednesday denied the report, saying Ma had only met Chen twice — in January 2008 and in 2009 prior to local elections — and the two meetings were held as part of regular visits to grassroots organizations.
“The president’s schedule on that day is open for examination, and allegations on the private meeting with a bookie or political donations are not true,” Liao said, also dismissing allegations that he visited Chiayi to arrange the meeting between Ma and Chen.
When asked whether the KMT would file a lawsuit against the magazine, Liao said Ma has always respected the freedom of the press and did not want to file lawsuits unless necessary.
“The media should be more cautious in reporting and should make clarifications on untrue coverage, rather than allowing it to be used by any political party,” Liao said.
Meanwhile, Ma was approached by the press for comments during his book launch earlier yesterday, but did not respond to questions.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday pressed Ma to tell the whole truth about the alleged meeting.
DPP spokesperson Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) said the Presidential Office had failed to say how many times Ma had met with Chen.
While Ma always prides himself on his integrity, numerous news reports suggest otherwise, DPP spokesperson Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said.
Ma’s re-election campaign director, King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), also reportedly met with Chen, he said.
Chuang added that it has been common practice for Ma to backtrack on his private itineraries or chose to stay silent whenever he’s accused of wrongdoings.
Ma flip-flopped on the number of times he had met with officials of Fubon Bank in 2003, when he was allegedly involved in a bank merger case as Taipei mayor, Chuang added, saying Ma did not offer any explanation on whether he and the KMT had received a political donation of NT$15 million from Fubon Financial chairman Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) before the 2008 presidential election. Tsai disclosed the donation in his court testimony this August.
In response, Ma’s campaign office spokesman, Yin Wei (殷瑋), reiterated that Ma’s schedule on Sept. 10 was packed with campaign activities from 6:05am to 7:05pm, and no private meetings were held with Chen.
“The DPP should not join the magazine in making groundless accusations,” he said. “The two DPP spokesmen should apologize to the public if they can’t back up their accusations with evidence.”
Additional reporting by staff writer