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Ma donation promise
rings hollow
By Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財
In the 2008 presidential election campaign President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) pledged
that he would deliver, during his first term, an economic growth rate of more
than 6 percent, per capita income of US$30,000 and an unemployment rate of no
more than 3 percent, in what became known as his “6-3-3” policy. He also
promised during a televised debate that he would have no problem donating half
of his salary if he failed to achieve this.
Well, it will soon be six months into the president’s second term, and he still
has not achieved that 6-3-3 goal. Another thing he has failed to do is honor the
promise to donate half his salary.
There was no response from Ma to public criticism of his broken promise, but
Premier Sean Chen said the president had told him that he already donates more
than half his salary every year. The Presidential Office later qualified this by
saying: “President Ma has been making donations for a long time now, and has
donated a total of more than NT$75 million [US$2.6 million] to date.”
Let us look at the first couple’s finances to clear up the issue, and get the
truth behind these supposed donations.
The first lady, Chow Mei-ching (周美青) is retired, and has long been known for her
charitable work. She has no income, apart from the 13 percent preferential
savings interest rate that she receives after having worked for a state-owned
bank. Ma makes NT$470,600 a month. After living expenses, income tax, health
insurance and government employees’ insurance premiums, the couple still has a
joint average income of about NT$480,000.
They seem to have an extraordinary aptitude for managing their finances, and
it’s a shame they cannot bring this formidable talent to bear on the country as
a whole, because the nation’s economy and finances are not in good shape.
Second, where exactly does the money Ma donates come from? In the past 30 years
the couple have put two girls through school in the US and made donations worth
NT$75 million. They also own five plots of land, four buildings, seven life
insurance policies and have savings of more than NT$77 million. They really are
living testaments to Taiwan’s economic miracle.
No one doubts that Ma “has been making donations for a long time now, and has
donated a total of more than NT$75 million” in that period. The question is
whether the money came from Ma’s personal wealth, or from the discretionary
“state affairs fund” or from the special allowance fund for government chiefs.
Third, where exactly does the money Ma donates go? If it goes to disaster relief
overseas or within Taiwan then great. However, if it goes to organizations that
he set up himself, such as the New Taiwanese Cultural Foundation or the Dwen An
Social Welfare Foundation, then it’s nothing but a trick consisting of deftly
moving money from one pocket to the next, helping himself while pretending to
help others, and, as the saying goes, making sure the muck doesn’t fertilize
someone else’s fields.
Finally, donating what amounts to more than half of one’s salary does not equate
to actually donating half of one’s salary. State funds are to be used, not
donated, unless the NT$40 million Ma receives annually from the state affairs
fund should be counted as part of his salary. If, indeed, it is, then Ma’s
combined annual income tax return for the past four years should have been more
than NT$46 million a year — rather than more than NT$6 million — for which he
should have paid NT$16 million in taxes. If he had donated half of his salary
every year, that would have meant donating NT$23 million or more. Do his tax
receipts and donation records reflect this?
Conversely, if the state affairs fund is not considered part of his annual
salary there is no way it should be used for personal donations. The fact that
Ma has pretty much spent NT$40 million worth of state affairs fund, less some
NT$10,000, has got absolutely nothing to do with donating half of his salary.
His promise of giving away half his salary should he fail to deliver on the
6-3-3 plan, then, is just yet another bounced check.
Chang Kuo-tsai is a former deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Association
of University Professors and a retired associate professor of National Hsinchu
University of Education.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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