Protest by Suspended Taitung Magistrate - Wu Chun-li

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000656 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON DEPT FOR EAP/TC, INR/EAP FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL TW SUBJECT: Protest by Suspended Taitung Magistrate - Wu Chun-li REF: 2005 TAIPEI 4986 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. ¶1. (U) After the December 3-in-1 election, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) suspended the duly-elected Taitung County Magistrate Wu Chun-li (KMT) from his post immediately following his swearing-in ceremony (December 20). The reason given for the dismissal was Wu's conviction in a corruption scandal during his tenure as Taitung County Council Speaker. At the time, Wu argued that according to the "Local Autonomy Law" the MOI had no standing to suspend him from his post because he was convicted prior to his election, not after it. Wu also argued that according to the law, MOI could not deprive him of his right, after being sworn in, to appoint his ex- wife as Deputy Magistrate, thus effectively lining her up to take over as Acting Magistrate while the suspension issue snaked its way through the press and possibly the courts. ¶2. (U) Both Wu and his supporters have petitioned the "Administrative Court" (the court that has jurisdiction for verifying the legitimacy of administrative procedural disputes) to question the legitimacy of the MOI's suspension order. The petition was rejected by the Administrative Court, with instructions from the Court that the petition should go to the Executive Yuan - the supervisory agent of the MOI. Knowing that the Executive Yuan is completely controlled by DPP players, Wu felt the effort to appeal to them about a legal matter was useless. He formally announced his resignation. ¶3. (SBU) Recently, Wu's ex-wife (see reftel) Kuang Li- chen asked an AIT/K contact in Taitung to send a copy of Wu's challenge to the MOI along to AIT/K with the hope AIT/K could use its influence to register "its concern" about this case to Taiwan government authorities. In Wu's protest document, the case is characterized as "a savage violation by government of the people's will, a violation against law, and justice." AIT/K has taken no action on this request, but has acknowledged receipt of the document. ¶4. (SBU) Wu's protest against the MOI may actually have a legitimate legal basis, according to the Taitung KMT office. The law applied by MOI says only that an "incumbent elected official" convicted of an offense may be suspended. Since his campaign in December, Wu and his KMT supporters have always claimed that the law doesn't apply to a candidate running for an office, but only to an incumbent convicted while in office. Wu's lawyers interpret the law to mean that a candidate who has been convicted prior to taking office can still sit in the newly elected office during the appeal process. If a conviction is upheld on appeal within the first two years of that newly elected official's term in office, a by- election would be held and, as one more appeal is left to the official, he would be able to run in the by-election. Winning the by-election would then place him firmly in the post as he could not be removed from post for "the same crime" even if the third appeal is a failure. If the conviction were to be upheld on appeal in the last two years of that newly elected official's term in office, then there would be a clear legal basis for suspension from the post and the MOI would have the authority to assign an acting magistrate to serve out the term of office. ¶5. (U) There will be a supplemental magistrate election held on April 1 to elect a new Magistrate for Taitung. Wu's ex-wife, Kuang Li-chen has registered with KMT in order to obtain the nomination to run for the position. For now, she is the only KMT member who has registered in the primary. So far, the only other candidate expressing an interest in running is former Vice Magistrate Liu Chao- hau (Independent),who also ran in the last election. The DPP Taitung county Chairman Chang Shun-fu has stated that if Liu runs, they will not nominate any other candidate because Liu previously was a DPP member. TAIPEI 00000656 002 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) Comment. Allegations of politically motivated abuse were commonly lodged by DPP candidates against the KMT prior to DPP rule. People in Taitung, which at its core is a blue-leaning area, now feel that the DPP administration government is manipulating the legal system by exaggerating the law to keep a newly elected KMT magistrate from his rightfully elected spot and to refuse him his legal rights of appointing an acting Magistrate until his appeal is settled. Further, the refusal of courts to entertain a legal challenge, when it appears there may be a legitimate legal basis, no matter how slim, for disputing the MOI suspension, adds fuel to the charge by Wu's KMT supporters that the suspension was politically motivated. End comment. THIELE KEEGAN