TAIPEI COURT CONVICTS FORMER FIRST FAMILY MEMBERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 001072

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/02/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL TW CH
SUBJECT: TAIPEI COURT CONVICTS FORMER FIRST FAMILY MEMBERS
OF PERJURY

Classified By: The Deputy Director for reasons 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Summary. A Taipei court on September 1 convicted four
members of former President Chen Shui-bian's family of
perjury and sentenced them to jail terms of six months to one
year. No jail time is imminent because of the possibility of
appeal and converting the sentences to community service. The
convictions are seen as a prelude to a much bigger event: The
verdicts in Chen's corruption case are scheduled to be
announced on September 11 and he is widely expected to be
found guilty. End Summary

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Guilty in Round One
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2. (U) The Taipei District Court convicted Chen's wife, Wu
Shu-jen, of instigating perjury and sentenced her to one year
in jail. Son Chen Chih-chung, daughter Chen Hsing-yu and
son-in-law Chao Chien-ming were convicted of perjury and
received six-month jail terms. The perjury occurred in 2005
when family members testified about a public fund,
established for the president's official use, from which Chen
Shui-bian and his wife were accused of embezzling. Wu
admitted she instructed the children to give false testimony,
and they acknowledged lying about collecting invoices and
receipts to claim roughly $31,000 in reimbursements. The
Taipei District Court also convicted the former chairwoman of
the Taipei 101 building, Diana Chen (no relation to the Chen
family),of perjury and sentenced her to 18 months in prison.
She was convicted of giving false testimony when questioned
in 2008 about the former first family's money-laundering
activities.


3. (C) Chen Shui-bian's family members received shorter
prison sentences because they admitted guilt and qualified to
have their sentences halved based on the nature and timing of
their crimes. The travel ban on Chen Hsing-yu remains in
place, still preventing her from pursuing plans to study in
the United States. (Note: Ms. Chen had been accepted to a
New York University dental program.)

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Next Step: Serve or Appeal
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4. (U) Wu Shu-jen's lawyer said she was dissatified with
the verdicts and would appeal in hopes of getting her
children's sentences suspended. Under Taiwan's Prison Law,
Wu will not serve jail time because of her poor health, and
the other family members will not serve until the appeals
process is exhausted. Even if they choose to accept their
sentences, regulations allow certain prison terms to be
converted to community service. Chen Chih-cheng said he
would have no comment until he studied the verdict. Chen
Hsing-yu gave no immediate statement.

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Reactions
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5. (C) Reactions to the verdicts split along party lines.
Legislators from the ruling Kuomintang argued the sentences
were too light, whereas opposition legislators from Chen's
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) maintained the opposite.
DPP International Affairs Director Bikhim Hsiao told PolOff
the verdict was "inhumane" and said the case was "blown out
of proportion." She questioned the need to ask children to
testify against parents.

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Looking Ahead: Verdicts For Wu, Chen Shui-bian
-------------- -


6. (C) Attention on the perjury verdicts will be short lived
as the Taipei District Court is scheduled to announce its
verdict on the corruption cases against the former president
and his wife on September 11. The former first couple is
widely expected to be found guilty on all corruption charges,

TAIPEI 00001072 002 OF 002


which include money laundering, embezzlement, extortion and
bribery. Reactions to that verdict also are likely to fall
along partisan lines. Nonetheless, political commentators
believe a guilty verdict will provide some respite to
President Ma Ying-jeou, whose administration has been
lambasted in recent weeks for mishandling Typhoon Morakot
disaster relief.
STANTON