‘CORRUPTION’:Ma, the vice president and the premier should be held accountable as decisionmakers at the ROC Centenary Foundation, which misused funds, the DPP said
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday intensified its attacks on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) and Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) over controversial spending by the ROC Centenary Foundation, saying the trio should be held accountable for misuse of funds.
Quoting TV commentator Sisy Chen (陳文茜), DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said Ma, Siew and Wu should be held accountable as the decisionmakers at the foundation, which operates a NT$3.2 billion (US$105.6 million) budget and which has been accused of squandering public funds with “poorly planned” and “meaningless” programs.
On her political talk show on Monday night, Sisy Chen said that former Council for Cultural Affairs minister Emile Sheng (盛治仁), who stepped down on Friday, was only a “scapegoat” in a controversy over the Dreamers (夢想家) rock musical.
The show, which cost NT$215 million to stage for two nights, has drawn criticism from artists and the public in recent weeks.
Sisy Chen said Ma, Siew and Wu knew about all the details and budget plans for the musical and designated Greater Taichung as the location for the performance.
The foundation not only broke the law, but also became a tool for Ma’s re-election campaign, she said.
According to regulations, at least one-third of board members at culture-related foundations should be professionals with cultural and artistic expertise, Chen Chi-mai said.
However, the vast majority of the foundation’s 20 board members are either government officials, Ma’s re-election campaign aides or corporate representatives. Huang Pi-twan (黃碧端), artistic director of the National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center, is the only member with a cultural background.
Chen Chi-mai said the DPP would file a corruption lawsuit against the three elected officials.
At a separate press conference, the DPP said it suspected that the three lawsuits filed separately by Ma, Chiayi Mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) and local bookmaker Chen Ying-chu (陳盈助) on Monday against the party and the Chinese-language Next Magazine constituted “a coordinated plot.”
Ma on Monday filed a defamation suit against the DPP for spreading what he described as an “unfounded” Next Magazine report alleging that he met with Chiayi-based bookmaker Chen Ying-chu in September to raise campaign funds.
Huang and Chen filed lawsuits against the magazine.
“Three people filed lawsuits on the same day ... It’s difficult for us to imagine that this was a coincidence,” DPP spokesperson Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said.
“Ma should face the questions and doubts of the public by offering a clear explanation rather than filing lawsuits, which seemed to me a political move to benefit his presidential campaign,” DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said.