Donate the Balance of the Chung Hsing Bills Fund to Charity

Donate the Balance of the Chung Hsing Bills Fund to Charity
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, China)
A Translation
May 28, 2008

No sooner had the new administration opened its doors for business, than reports emerged that the KMT hoped to reclaim the 240 million NT balance in the controversial Chung Hsing Bills Fund. In terms of both timing and procedure, this is an unwise move. To stir up dust that had long settled, for the sake of a tainted sum of money, can only damage the KMT's image.

Both the KMT and PFP are being naive. The KMT hopes to reclaim 240 million NT belonging to the party. James Soong hopes to emerge from the shadow of the Chung Hsing Bills scandal. One party hopes to receive monetary benefits. The other hopes to clear his name. Both see a win/win scenario. But they are forgetting the third keyholder in the case -- Lee Teng-hui. They are also forgetting the public on Taiwan, which has been following this case for the past eight years. Besides, even assuming the procedural knots can be untangled, this case is not as simple as "You get your money back. I get my name cleared." Public perception is a tricky matter.

The Chung Hsing Bills Case is not just an internal KMT scandal. It is also an old-fashioned backroom deal. During the 2000 Presidential Election, Lee Teng-hui fought tooth and nail with James Soong. James Soong lost because Lee Teng-hui used the Chung Hsing Bills scandal to block Soong's path to the presidency. The KMT also lost power. It was a lose/lose proposition. The public on Taiwan endured eight years of Chen regime misrule and degeneracy. Nothing good can come out of revisiting the Chung Hsing Bills scandal.

Wu Po-hsiung and James Soong appear interested in bringing closure to this affair. But if the 240 million NT is treated as a reward for making peace with Lee Teng-hui, this could make matters even worse. After so much storm and strife, the air surrounding the Chung Hsing Bills Case may never clear. All we can do is allow bygones be bygones, then donate that dirty money to charity. Only this can result in a win/win/win scenario.

Each of the parties should deal with the personal and financial issues separately. Personal issues must not be linked with financial issues. Money must not be the price of reconciliation. Only then can the Chung Hsing Bills scandal finally be resolved.

The concerned parties include Lee Teng-hui, Lien Chan, and James Soong. Much has changed since then. Lee and Lien once stood on the same side with regards the Chung Hsing Bills Finance scandal. Following the debacle however, Lien and Soong ended up as running mates. Now that the political winds are blowing from Ma Ying-jeou's direction, Lee Teng-hui has once again changed course. Obviously changes in the strategic scenario influence personal attitudes. Over the past eight years, the concerned parties have formed and broken alliance after alliance. Witness the ruling Democratic Progressive Party drunk with power. Witness Taiwan's regression and the people's suffering. How can one not be chagrined?

The public on Taiwan is fed up. It has endured eight years of pain. The public on Taiwan has handed the incoming administration a new mandate for Taiwan's future. Lee Teng-hui and James Soong have receded into the shadows. That they might wish to resolve old grievances is understandable. Besides, the pain of the Chung Hsing Bills Finance case is something Lee, Lien, and Soong inflicted upon Taiwan. If those responsible for the scandal can reconcile, then they can apologize to the people. The disposal of the money however allows no room for ambiguity. According to James Soong and Wu Po-hsiung, the 240 million NT slush fund came from various secret channels. Lee Teng-hui ordered James Soong to establish the fund. The fund definitely belongs to the KMT. According to Lee Teng-hui, this is untrue. But Lee has flip-flopped on this allegation repeatedly. The two sides differ on what happened, primarily on the main reason why this fund couldn't be withdrawn. Besides caring for the Chiang family, this "Party/Government Operation Fund" includes private campaign contributions, grants, and other sources of income. funneled through private channels. Under such circumstances, can one really regard them as KMT funds, to be reclaimed by the KMT and used for other purposes?

Controversy over KMT party assets has never subsided. If the KMT attempts to reclaim these funds, whose origins remain unclear, and brings back bad memories of improper party assets, is it really worth it? Besides, 240 million NT may be tempting, but attempting to reclaim will summon the ghosts of a bygone era -- an era of palace intrigues and political infighting. The KMT barely has time to look to the future. Why let this dirty money destroy its image?

If these political elders are willing to set aside old scores, they may as well donate the money to charity. Or else simply allow the time limit to expire. The funds will automatically forfeited. They will then be returned to the state treasury, to the people. Consider the funds a contribution these political elders owe the people of Taiwan.

興票餘緒：人的恩仇難解，錢應捐作公益
【聯合報╱社論】
2008.05.28 03:06 am

新政府方才開張，國民黨即傳出希領回興票案提存的二點四億元，就時機和作法而言，均屬不智。為了一筆爛帳，重新掀起漫天歷史塵埃，對國民黨的形象有害無益。

在這裡，國親兩黨各有一個天真的想像：國民黨拿回屬於黨的二點四億元，宋楚瑜則可從「興票案」的陰影底下完全脫困；一方獲得實惠，一方還得清白，想像中是兩全其美的好事一樁。但他們忽略了握有此案「第三把鑰匙」的李登輝，還有旁觀此事八年而備覺疑惑的台灣民眾；況且，即使提存的程序糾結得以解開，從社會觀感而言，此案已絕非「你拿回錢，我洗刷名」這麼簡單。

回顧興票案始末，它不只是國民黨內部惡鬥的醜陋一頁，也讓舊式密室政治的汙穢現形。二 ○○○年的總統大選，是李登輝與宋楚瑜的惡鬥；結果宋楚瑜因李登輝主導的興票案而阻斷了總統之路，國民黨也痛失政權，可謂兩敗俱傷，而台灣人民則由此承受了扁政權八年失政敗德的苦果。就此而言，興票案已是絕無可能討回「公道」。

如今，吳伯雄和宋楚瑜似有意將這段恩怨作個了結，但如果把二點四億視為與李登輝言和的「報償」，卻可能是治絲益棼。事實上，經過這麼巨大的風暴，興票案要返歸純淨的天空已無可能；唯一可以做的事，是將人的恩怨情仇作一了斷，然後讓那筆罪惡源頭的錢回歸社會，才有三贏的可能。

亦即，當事的各方，應該把「人」和「錢」的問題分開來處理，不可彼此勾聯，更不必以錢的解套作為彼此和解的前提。如此，興票案才可能尋得最後的救贖。

從「人」的問題看，李連宋等人當年的情仇，如今已有了莫大的變化：原本於興票案站在同一陣營的「李連」，在慘敗後演變成「連宋」攜手搭檔的局面；至馬英九出線，李登輝又見風轉舵。顯然，政治情境的變化，可以催化政治情仇的變化。過去八年，相關人等歷經分分合合，目睹民進黨執政的顛狂，看到台灣的倒退和人民的痛苦，不可能對自己的作為沒有絲毫懊惱吧？

當台灣飽經艱難，熬過痛苦的八年，新的民意對台灣前途也已作出新的選擇，李宋這些已退至舞台邊緣的人物，若思化解舊日恩怨，自是可以理解。何況，興票案是李連宋共同加給台灣的歷史疼痛，現在始作俑者若能就此和解，至少可表達對人民今是昨非的歉意。但是，對於錢的處置，卻沒有含糊的餘地。根據宋楚瑜和吳伯雄的認知，這二點四億元來自不同管道的秘密撥款，是李登輝委託宋楚瑜動支，確屬國民黨所有；李登輝的說法，則與此不同，且一再反覆。雙方認知上的不同，是這筆錢無法提取的主因。事實上，撇開蔣家遺族照護經費不談，所謂的「黨政運作基金」包含了民間政治捐款及競選補助款等紛雜來源，且經過私人管道的輾轉理財運用；在這種情況下，能否視為國民黨資金而由國民黨領回並另作他用，自然大有可議。

試想，國民黨的黨產爭議多年來未曾平息，如今若要為這筆妾身未明的興票款，再度勾起社會對其不當黨產的記憶，豈屬明智？更何況，二點四億的巨款固然誘人，卻是充滿「舊時代」、「宮廷風」、「政治惡鬥」的魅影；國民黨往前看都來不及，何必為這筆錢再讓自己沾滿歷史的汙穢？

如果老巨頭們願意放下恩怨，大家不妨把這筆錢領出來，然後捐出供作公益用途；否則就讓提存時限屆滿自動充公，歸入國庫後自然而然地回到民間。如此，就算政治巨頭們積欠台灣社會的少許補償吧！