Son-In-Law of Taiwan Leader Indicted for Insider Trading
Prosecutors in Taiwan indicted President Chen Shui-bian's son-in-law on insider-trading charges, the latest setback for the Taiwanese leader in a series of scandals involving people close to him.
The Taipei district prosecutor's office filed the indictment against Chao Chien-ming for alleged insider trading related to shares in a government-controlled financial company that received a critical loan last year. The prosecutor's office said in a statement that it would seek a sentence of eight years in prison and a fine of 30 million New Taiwan dollars, or about US$925,000, for Mr. Chao, a physician married to the president's daughter. Six others, including Mr. Chao's father, were also indicted in connection with the case.
Mr. Chao, who has been in custody since late May as part of the investigation, was released late yesterday on NT$10 million bail. Two of the others indicted in the case were also released on bail. Addressing local television-news cameras after his release, Mr. Chao apologized for causing problems for the first family and the nation, but again stated that he was innocent of wrongdoing.
The insider-trading case is one of several scandals embroiling family members and others close to Mr. Chen that have significantly disrupted policy-making in Asia's fifth-largest economy. Mr. Chen hasn't been implicated in any of the cases, and so far he has successfully resisted opposition legislators' efforts to use the scandals to oust him. But the steady stream of bad news has driven the president's approval ratings to historic lows and weakened his ability to govern during the remainder of his presidency. Mr. Chen is constitutionally barred from running again when his second term ends in May 2008.
Friday, Taipei prosecutors indicted Chen Che-nan, the president's former deputy chief of staff, for allegedly accepting bribes from a businessman seeking to avoid prosecution for fraud. The two Chens aren't related.
In addition, opposition legislators have accused the president's wife, Wu Shu-chen, of receiving free vouchers from the new management of a Taipei department store. The presidential office has denied wrongdoing by Ms. Wu. And in late May, the vice chairman of the government's National Science Council was detained on suspicion of taking payment to grant a contract linked to a high-speed rail project.
Prosecutors say Mr. Chao and his father, along with three others, learned July 14, 2005, about plans to arrange a syndicated loan for Taiwan Development Corp., a government-controlled investment firm that had lost money in 2004. The prosecutors allege in their statement that Mr. Chao, his father and the others began buying shares in Taiwan Development on July 25.
Plans were finalized in August for a syndicated loan to Taiwan Development of more than US$500 million from a consortium led by state-owned Bank of Taiwan. Taiwan Development then restructured and announced a net profit for 2005. Its share price more than doubled between late July and the end of 2005, and more than doubled again during the first four months of this year, before retreating.
Prosecutors said in their statement that Mr. Chao, his father and the three others made a total of more than NT$105 million in profit on Taiwan Development trading. The two remaining people in the case were securities executives indicted for "breach of trust" for allegedly aiding in the purchase of the Taiwan Development shares.
陈水扁女婿遭起诉
台湾检察署起诉总统陈水扁的女婿赵建铭进行内部交易。这位台湾领导人身边的亲信近来丑闻不断，这个最新消息无疑是雪上加霜。
台北地方检察署起诉赵建铭参与一家金融公司股票的内部交易。该公司为政府控股，去年得到一笔重要贷款。检察署在一份声明中称，它要求对赵建铭判八年监禁，并处以新台币3,000万元（约合925,000美元）的罚款。赵建铭的父亲等其他六人也因与本案有关而受到起诉。赵建铭是一名医师。
赵建铭自5月底被监禁，这是对该案进行调查的措施之一。周一晚些时候，他在缴纳了新台币1,000万元的保释金后被释放。本案中被起诉的另外两人也被保释。赵建铭被释放后接受当地电视台采访时，对为台湾第一家庭以及台湾所带来的麻烦表示道歉，但同时再次申明自己是清白的。
这个内部交易案件是陈水扁家庭成员以及与他关系较近人员卷入的众多丑闻之一，这些丑闻严重干扰了这个亚洲第五大经济体的正常决策。陈水扁本人没有牵扯到任何一个案件中，而且到目前为止他已经成功的抵抗了反对派立法委员利用这些丑闻赶他下台的种种努力。但是，不断传出的负面消息不仅使他的民众支持率跌至历史最低水平，而且也削弱了他在剩余任期的执政能力。根据宪法规定，陈水扁在2008年5月第二个任期届满后，将不能再次连任。
上周五，台北检察署以贿赂罪起诉陈水扁办公室的前副秘书长陈哲男。一位商人为了逃避欺诈起诉向陈哲男行贿。陈哲男与陈水扁没有亲属关系。
另外，反对派立法委员还控告陈水扁的夫人吴淑珍收受台湾一家百货商店新管理层赠送的免费礼券。总统办公室否认吴淑珍有不当行为。5月底，台湾政府下属的国家科学委员会(National Science Council)副主席因涉嫌在一个高速铁路项目中受贿被拘留。
检察署称，赵建铭和他父亲以及其他三人于2005年7月14日得知了为台湾土地开发股份有限公司(Taiwan Development Corp.)安排一笔银团贷款的计划。这家公司是政府控股的投资公司，2004年曾出现亏损。检察署在声明中称，赵建铭和他父亲以及其他人从7月25日开始买入该公司的股票。
贷款计划最终在8月实施，台湾土地开发获得了台湾银行(Bank of Taiwan)牵头的国际财团超过5亿美元的银团贷款。该公司随后进行了重组，并于2005年宣布实现净盈利。公司股票价格在7月底至2005年底之间上涨了一倍多。在今年的前四个月，该公司股票价格再次上涨了一倍多。
检察署在声明中称，赵建铭和他父亲以及其他三人从台湾土地开发股票交易中的获利超过了新台币1.05亿元。涉及本案的另外两人是证券公司的高级管理人员，他们因被指帮助赵建铭等人购买台湾土地开发的股票，从而“违反了受信原则”。
Jason Dean / Chiu Piling
