Taiwan court upholds conviction of former president, but cuts sentence to 20 years

Court cuts former Taiwan president’s sentence

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s High Court upheld former President Chen Shui-bian’s conviction on graft charges Friday but cut his life sentence to 20 years, in a small victory for the man who once excited great passions on the island but is now largely ignored.

Chen, 59, was found guilty in September 2009 by the Taipei District Court of embezzling $3.15 million from a special presidential fund, receiving bribes worth at least $9 million, and laundering some of the money through Swiss bank accounts. He has been held in a suburban Taipei jail for the past 17 months.

Chen’s lawyer said his client accepted Friday’s decision with mixed feelings.

“He was not pleased by the ruling and believes he should have been acquitted,” said Shih Yi-lin. “But he also believes he has a good chance on the next appeal so he was not particularly upset.”

Chen has steadfastly maintained his innocence, insisting that he is the victim of efforts by current President Ma Ying-jeou to punish him for his pro-independence views. Since replacing Chen two years ago, Ma has turned the corner on his predecessor’s anti-China policies, moving rapidly to improve relations with the mainland, from which Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949.

Chen’s next appeal will be to Taiwan’s Supreme Court. Should it uphold his conviction he can launch a further appeal to the island’s highest court, the Council of Grand Justices. Chen could also be pardoned by Taiwan’s incumbent president, but only after the legal process against him has been exhausted.

Friday’s High Court ruling also upheld the graft conviction of former first lady Wu Shu-chen, but cut her life sentence to 20 years, the same as her husband.

Presiding Judge Teng Chen-chiu said the sentences were reduced because the High Court had adopted a stricter standard than the District Court in determining what constituted embezzlement.

The High Court is now considering a separate request by Chen to be released pending his appeals. A ruling is expected some time before June 23, when his detention order expires.

While most Taiwanese believe Chen is guilty of at least some of the charges against him, critics say the legal process has been partisan and unfair.

They point to the replacement of the three-judge panel that originally ordered him released on his own recognizance, the selective leaking of negative material on Chen to the media, and a skit mocking the former leader mounted by Justice Ministry officials, including one of the prosecutors investigating his case.

The Justice Ministry denies that Chen has been treated unfairly.

Chen was first elected in 2000, in Taiwan’s second direct presidential poll, breaking a half-century monopoly on power by the Nationalists, who retreated to the island in 1949 after losing the Chinese civil war to Mao Zedong’s Communists. He was re-elected by a razor-thin margin in 2004 amid charges that an election eve assassination attempt against him was staged to garner sympathy among Taiwan’s 23 million people.

An official inquiry failed to substantiate the charges.

Chen became a polarizing figure during his last four years in office, alienating centrist voters with his pro-independence moves and causing much consternation in Washington, which feared he could push already rising tensions with China into open conflict.

He was also attacked over persistent rumors of official corruption involving his family and inner circle. Prosecutors opened an investigation shortly after he left office in May 2008 and indicted him six months later.

Over the past year, his Democratic Progressive Party has begun to recover from the tattered reputation he left it with at the end of his second term. Fearing that overt expressions of support could rekindle voter antipathy, the party has kept its distance from him, though it has echoed charges that the judicial process against him is rigged.

Taiwan’s main pro-opposition newspaper relegated news of Chen’s appeal to an inside page on Friday, while a pro-government publication highlighted it with a banner headline, apparently trying to convince readers that the DPP remains a threat to good government.

But in stark contrast to the charged feelings common during his second term, most Taiwanese appeared to regard Friday’s court ruling with indifference, focusing instead on the opening of the football World Cup in South Africa or the current government’s push to sign a landmark trade deal with China.