MEDIA REACTION: INDICTMENT OF KMT CHAIRMAN MA YING-JEOU

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000367

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - LLOYD NEIGHBORS
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: INDICTMENT OF KMT CHAIRMAN MA YING-JEOU



1. Summary: The Taiwan dailies gave significant reporting and
editorial coverage February 14 on the indictment of KMT Chairman Ma
Ying-jeou, who announced Tuesday evening his decision to resign from
the party chairmanship but run in the 2008 presidential election.
The pro-unification "United Daily News" front-paged the results of
its latest survey, which showed that 66 percent of those polled said
they support Ma to run in the 2008 presidential election and 47
percent said they are dissatisfied with the prosecutors' decision to
indict Ma. The same poll also found that Ma's approval rating rose
to 62 percent, a 10-percent increase compared with a poll conducted
in November, when Ma donated part of his special funds to charity.
The pro-status quo "China Times" also carried the results of its
survey on page five, which showed that 54.7 percent of respondents
said they believe Ma should run for president in 2008, and 45.9
percent said they believe that Ma is clean. The same poll also
showed that 74.6 percent of respondents said they believe that
prosecutors should use the same standard to examine the use of
special funds by the DPP's four bigwigs.


2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the
pro-independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's largest-circulation
daily, said the KMT should not have revised and tailor-made its
party regulations just to allow Ma to run in the presidential
election. Editorials in the limited-circulation, pro-independence,
English-language "Taipei Times" and "Taiwan News" both said the
KMT's revision of its party regulations for Ma's sake will undermine
Ma's political credibility. An editorial in the mass-circulation
"Apple Daily," on the other hand, said it is happy to see Ma bravely
announce his decision to run for president. Editorials in the
pro-status quo "China Times" and the pro-unification "United Daily
News" both urged the prosecutors to use the same criteria to
investigate the use of special funds by the Green camp bigwigs. An
editorial in the limited-circulation, conservative, pro-unification,
English-language "China Post" urged the KMT to stay united to
weather the political storm caused by Ma's indictment. End
summary.

A) "Ma Called on Bian to Step down when Bian's Wife Was Indicted,
But Ma Wants to Run for President After Being Indicted"

The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 550,000]
editorialized (2/14):

"... The KMT does not belong to Ma Ying-jeou alone. The KMT often
claims that it has a wealth of talents; should this be the case, it
should not have broken its original party regulations just for Ma
Ying-jeou. NOW that the [KMT's] black-gold [illicit funds] clause
has been revised and tailor-made to suit a certain person, it is
akin to wiping out the spirit of a democratic party. ..."

B) "Ma's Bid against the Spirit of Law"

The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation:
30,000] editorialized (2/14):

"... All of these [KMT] groups are actually helping to damage Ma's
political credibility. With party regulations changing so that Ma
can become the KMT's presidential candidate, voters will question
his integrity. ... The campaign to depose Chen called for
integrity, but NOW the pan-blue camp does not want to abide by these
principles. If Ma proceeds with this course of action, it will not
only mar his reputation, but also make it impossible for the KMT to
talk about rules of any nature with credibility. ... The pan-blue
camp may be willing to turn a blind eye to Ma's indictment, but the
public may not be as charitable."

C) "People Must Judge Ma's Announcement"

The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation:
20,000] editorialized (2/14):

"... Whether Ma is innocent or guilty of the charges of corruption
against him is a matter for the court to decide, but the KMT
chairman's decision to announce his resolve 'not to be beaten down'
and to run for the presidency in the wake of being indicted for
'corruption' are profoundly political actions that will test the
wisdom of our 23 million people. ... Although Ma's announcement may
partially counteract the negative media impact of his indictment
today, we believe that his action sets a shockingly evil precedent
and undermines any possible claim to political integrity. ... The
KMT and its leader have announced to the people of Taiwan that they
have no intention whatsoever of abandoning their party's deeply
ingrained culture of institutional corruption. ..."

D) "Right and Wrong of Ma Ying-jeou"

The mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 550,000] wrote in
an editorial (2/14):

"... We are happy to see the highly popular Ma Ying-jeou bravely
state his determination to run for president. It is also because of
the high expectations of [Taiwan] society, Ma has the responsibility
to create a paragon for Taiwan. No matter whether he wins or loses
in the future, we all hope that Ma and his rivals will engage in
campaigns that are both respectable and of high quality."

E) "We Are Waiting to See How the Prosecutors Probe and Decide on
the [Cases of the] Green Bigwigs"

The pro-status quo "China Times" [circulation: 400,000]
editorialized (2/14):

"... If [Ma's case] spells out the criteria that the prosecutors are
going to use when investigating other cases involving the allowances
of high-ranking government officials, the entire island will watch
with eyes wide open how the prosecutors handle the allowance cases
of Judicial Yuan President Weng Yueh-sheng and of the Green bigwigs
such as Annette Lu, Yu Shyi-kun, Su Tseng-chang, and Frank Hsieh.
... Just like the political upheavals generated by [Chen
Shui-bian's] state affairs allowance case, Ma Ying-jeou's mayoral
allowance case will definitely trigger another round of political
turmoil. For the Blue and Green bigwigs who are about to vie for
the presidency in 2008, the turmoil will be a variable that no one
can overlook. But we would rather choose to believe that, for the
prosecutors, there is no distinction of Blue or Green in their mind;
nor should political factors affect the investigation or judgment of
the prosecutors. Even though over half the public in Taiwan found
it hard to believe or even accept Ma's indictment, they have no
choice but to respect the current judicial decision. We are waiting
to see how the prosecutors are going to deal with the allowance
cases of other government officials, including those of the Green
bigwigs and Judicial Yuan Weng Yueh-sheng."

F) "Asymmetrical Judicial Outcomes: the State Affairs Allowance
[Case] Fails to Fetter Chen Shui-bian, But the Mayoral Allowance
[Case] Has Bridled Ma Ying-jeou"

The pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000]
commented in an editorial (2/14):

"... Judging from the investigation process, we can hardly say that
this case carries any intent of 'judicial persecution;' nor do we
believe that the prosecutors have been manipulated by any political
power. But even so, we still don't believe that the prosecutors
have handled [Ma's] case in the most appropriate way. ... The
prosecutors may have different interpretations with regard to the
nature of allowances for high-ranking government officials, but they
determined that Ma is 'corrupt' based on the allowance requesting
procedures specified by the Taipei City Council. If this criterion
is not applied to all other political officeholders, [the
prosecutors'] judgment will surely be strongly challenged in future
trials. ...

"The DPP is, without a doubt, the one that most benefits from Ma's
indictment. The DPP camp members' happy and excited faces say it
all. Judging by the current situation, not only has the
Presidential Office's allowance for state affairs case failed to
fetter incumbent President Chen Shui-bian, but the mayoral allowance
case has bridled Ma, the KMT hopeful who is most likely to secure a
victory in the 2008 presidential election. Given such a sudden and
major change in the situation, one can say that the situation NOW
bodes well for the DPP to win the 2008 elections. ..."

G) "KMT Must Remain United to Weather Political Storm"

The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post"
[circulation: 30,000] editorialized (2/14):

"... The indictment decision did not come as too much of a surprise,
but both Premier Su Tseng-chang and President Chen Shui-bian have
stressed the case should be vigorously pursued. The prosecutor was
working under extreme pressure. He probably had no choice. ... At
any rate, the indictment has dealt a blow to the KMT, which has been
striving to regain power after losing two presidential elections in
a row. Ma, a political star with enormous popularity until
recently, had been widely expected to win the 2008 presidential
election because of his high approval ratings. ... However, the KMT
will certainly lose again if it continues to be troubled by
disharmony and disunity. Intraparty harmony can be maintained if
the competition between Ma and Wang is resolved in a fair and
democratic way."

YOUNG