FUGITIVE COUNTY MAGISTRATE STILL MISSING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 003231

SIPDIS

STATE PASS AIT/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL TW
SUBJECT: FUGITIVE COUNTY MAGISTRATE STILL MISSING


Classified By: AIT Deputy Director David J. Keegan, Reasons: 1.4 (B/D)


1. (C) Summary: Yunlin County Magistrate Chang Jung-Wei
disappeared on August 14, shortly after questions were raised
about his involvement in a local bribery scandal. He was
later declared a fugitive after ignoring repeated summonses
from prosecutors. Chang claims he is the victim of a
vendetta by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government
over his support for the opposition during the 2004
presidential election. Most observers dismiss Chang's claims
of political persecution, noting his past brushes with the
law. Chang's disappearance will likely be a major issue in
the upcoming legislative election campaign in Yunlin, which
will pit Chang's sister against his secretary and the county
councilwoman who exposed the scandal. The Chang affair is
typical of the sort of specific local issues that may
determine the results of the December election. End Summary.

From Magistrate to Fugitive
--------------


2. (U) Yunlin County, a rural politically divided district on
the west coast of south central Taiwan, has a well-earned
reputation for corruption, money politics and organized
crime. KMT County Magistrate Chang Jung-Wei is no exception.
On August 13, as part of an investigation into a bribery
scandal involving the construction of an incinerator in
Linnei township, Yunlin prosecutors raided both the office
and residence of the Magistrate. On August 16, he was
summoned by prosecutors for questioning, but failed to
appear. After he ignored additional summonses, a warrant for
his arrest was issued on August 23 and he was officially
declared a fugitive. On August 26, Taiwan's High Court
upheld a separate conviction against Chang for vote-buying in
his 1994 election for County Council Speaker, sentencing him
to 12 months of imprisonment. To date his whereabouts are
still unknown, although Chang has given several private
interviews to local newspapers over the past two months to
dispel rumors that he has fled to China.


3. (U) The investigation began in June, when Yunlin
prosecutors received an anonymous tip from a local resident
that Yunlin government officials, including Chang, had
accepted a large bribe to approve construction on the Linnei
Incinerator. Eight contractors and government officials,
including Linnei Mayor Chen Ho-Shan were brought in for
questioning. Chen admitted in July that he had accepted
NT$18 million ($530,000) in "commissions" from construction
companies to ensure that contracts would be awarded to them.
Bank records, however, indicated that over NT$90 million
($2.7 million) was missing from funds meant to purchase land
for the incinerator, leading the prosecutors to look at other
possible suspects, including Magistrate Chang.

Chang: Corrupt Polluter?
--------------


4. (U) The incinerator project has been a flash point of
controversy ever since Chang proposed it in November 2000.
Local residents, led by DPP Legislative Yuan (LY) Member Su
Chi-Fen and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) County Councilwoman
Yin Ling-Ying, opposed its location just 1.8 km from an
open-air water treatment facility on public health grounds.
Yin made repeated attempts over the years to bring the
incinerator case to court, citing financial irregularities
and suspicious business practices in the plans for
construction and operation of the plant. The incinerator
issue is the latest incident in a long-running battle between
Yin and Chang. In 1999, Yin called in support from the
international environmental community to fight a
land-excavation project initiated by Chang that would have
destroyed the natural habitat of the endangered fairy pitta
bird. (Note: Yin is running in the December LY election.
The DPP's Su is not running for re-election this year, but is
expected to run for County Magistrate next year. End Note.)

Or Victim of Political Persecution
--------------


5. (U) Chang has denied all charges and claims to be the
victim of political persecution. In newspaper interviews, he
has said the investigation is being used by the present
administration to punish him for his outspoken campaigning on
behalf of the Pan-Blue Lien-Soong ticket during the March
presidential election. He claims to have gone into hiding
because he fears he will be imprisoned for political reasons
before he can have his day in court. His sister, Chang
Li-Shan, held a press conference shortly after his
disappearance to allege that Tsai Chi-Wen, the prosecutor in
charge of the case, had close ties to DPP Legislator Su.
Other allies of Chang on the County Council have attempted to
discredit the investigation by suggesting that the
relationship between Tsai and Su may be "intimate." (Note:
Chang Li-Shan is running in the coming LY elections. Because
she failed to secure the KMT nomination, she will run as an
independent. End Note.)


6. (C) Lee Chien-Chung, a local lawyer and brother of TSU
County Councilman Lee Chien-Hsing, said Chang's claims of
political persecution were meant to distract attention from
his criminal activities. Newspapers report that Chang's
accusers (Tsai, Su, and Yin) have all received death threats
from Chang, who has never made a secret of his underworld
connections and gangster past. DPP officials involved with
the 2004 presidential election are even more dismissive of
Chang's persecution claims. They say that Chang's reported
decision to pocket KMT money before the March 20 election
rather than distribute it on behalf of the Lien-Soong
campaign was a major factor in Chen Shui-bian's landslide
victory in Yunlin.

Comment: Politics as usual in Yunlin County
--------------


7. (C) While Yunlin's reputation for corruption and money
politics is perhaps the worst on the island, the prominence
of the Chang affair in the ongoing election campaign is
indicative of the local, sometimes sordid nature of LY
campaign politics. In Yunlin, as in many areas of Taiwan,
personalities and local power politics matter more than party
label and policy stands. Septel will further examine the
role these factors will play in the upcoming LY election.
PAAL