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Ma, Jiang summoned by
prosecutors
TESTIMONY: The president, the premier and a
former Presidential Office official were questioned individually, as was the
prosecutor-general, who is listed as a defendant
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming
Photo: Taipei Times
Premier Jiang Yi-huah
Photo: Taipei Times
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was summoned
by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday evening as a witness in a
case involving Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming’s (黃世銘) alleged leaks of
details of an investigation into allegations of improper lobbying against
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and former Presidential Office deputy
secretary-general Lo Chih-chang (羅智強) were also subpoenaed as witnesses last
night.
Ma, Jiang, Huang and Lo were questioned individually.
Ma is the second sitting president to testify as a witness. Then-president Chen
Shui-bian (陳水扁) testified in Hualien County as a witness in a corruption case in
2004.
Neither Ma nor Jiang appeared before reporters after their visits to the
prosecutors’ office and did not issue any statements.
However, Huang, who has been listed as a defendant in the investigation, said he
is innocent.
“I have no regrets at all about what I did. I did not do anything wrong that let
Taiwanese down, nor did I do anything that has tarnished the position of
prosecutor-general. I am sticking to what I have done and I will keep doing it,”
Huang told reporters after he was questioned.
Lo declined to reveal details of his testimony, saying: “It takes courage to
stand on the same side as Ma, which is the side of the minority at this moment.”
He resigned on Sept. 12, citing the improper lobbying scandal, as well as family
and personal reasons for his decision to quit.
The prosecutors’ office began its investigation yesterday after several lawyers
and citizens filed lawsuits against Huang over the alleged leaking of secrets in
the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Division’s (SID) probe
into a case involving Wang and Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker
Chien-ming (柯建銘).
The prosecutors summoned Ma to clarify the details of meetings he had with Huang
on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, five days before Huang called a press conference to
accuse Wang of the misconduct.
Ma has previously defended the legitimacy of his private interactions with Huang
and dismissed allegations that he had instructed Huang on how to handle the
allegations against Wang, but said that, as a citizen, he was obligated to
testify in court. He also said that his testimony would be able to help
prosecutors and he did not think his appearance before them would have a
negative effect on the presidency.
The Presidential Office notified the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office
yesterday afternoon that Ma was available to report to the office last night. Ma
arrived at the prosecutors’ office at about 8pm, taking a secret passageway to
avoid reporters. Huang was already being questioned when Ma arrived.
Both Ma and Huang have said that the allegations against Wang involve
administrative misconduct and that it is not a criminal case.
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