TAIWAN’S FORMER president Chen Shui-bian could face life in prison if a court decides today that he is guilty of corruption, in a case that is being seen as a test of the stability of the self-ruled island’s democracy.
Mr Chen, who remains a popular figure in Taiwan despite the graft charges, is accused of embezzling €2.2 million during his 2000-2008 presidency from a special presidential fund, of receiving bribes worth at least €6.2 million in connection with a government land deal, of laundering some of the money through Swiss bank accounts, and of forging documents. His wife has already been convicted.
His trial concludes as his successor Ma Ying-jeou is trying to shore up a well of public dissatisfaction over his government’s tardy response to Typhoon Morakot, which killed nearly 800 people in the south of the island.
Mr Ma replaced a number of ministers in a cabinet reshuffle yesterday.
China considers Taiwan a renegade province to be brought back into the fold by force if necessary, and the former president was a constant irritant to Beijing because of his repeated hints that the island would seek independence from China.
Mr Chen told local media that he was “extremely pessimistic” about the court’s verdict, and he expected to be sentenced to life imprisonment.
During more than eight months in prison, the ex-president went on hunger strike and also dismissed his lawyers in May as a protest over what he saw as unfair treatment from the legal process.
The cases of corruption, profiteering, influence-peddling and money laundering involve a total of 14 defendants, including Mr Chen and a range of close relatives, family friends, former aides, government officials and business people.
Mr Chen accuses the judiciary of seeking revenge and playing politics in support of Mr Ma’s Kuomintang (KMT) government.
When Mr Chen was appointed for the first of his two terms as president in 2000, he ended 50 years of KMT rule in Taiwan.
Mr Ma has his own issues to deal with as the verdict on Mr Chen looms, as he tries to soothe public anger over the reaction to the typhoon.
The reshuffle sees Shi Yen-shiang, chairman of Taiwan’s China Petroleum company, appointed as economics minister, while Lee Sush-der keeps his position as finance minister. The announcement was made by Taiwan’s newly appointed Premier Wu Den-yih, whose predecessor Liu Chao-shiuan resigned earlier.
“The most important thing for us to do is rebuild the public’s confidence,” Mr Wu told a news conference.
Taiwan’s entire 42-member cabinet had offered to resign, but most of the key ministries remain unchanged.