Bribery case plunges Ma administration into fresh crisis

Want China Times, Lee Ming-hsien and Staff Reporter 2014-06-04

Yeh Shih-wen, left, and Chao Teng-hsiung share a toast in 2012, when
a metro link to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport was agreed. (Photo/
Wang Ying-hao)

Farglory Group's alleged attempt to bribe government officials in northern Taiwan's Taoyuan county in order to win the tender for a low-cost housing project in the county's Bade area has tarnished the Taiwan government's goodwill in seeking to provide low-cost accommodation, writes our sister paper China Times.

The low-cost housing project was initiated by Taoyuan county in 2010 and Taiwan-based conglomerate Farglory was one of the most aggressive bidders. The bribery that has been alleged involves the county's deputy magistrate Yeh Shih-wen, who has since been sacked, on evidence that he received NT$18.2 million (US$605,500) in cash from Farglory chair Chao Teng-hsiung to secure the bid.

Yeh is said to be resourceful and have lots of political connections, especially with the ruling Kuomintang. Yeh is the deputy to Wu Chih-yang or John Wu, who has been Taoyuan county magistrate since December 2009. Wu is the son of the KMT's honorary chairman Wu Po-hsiung.

Yeh was made head of the county's Construction and Planning Agency in 2008, and has since worked alongside 14 ministers who have generally affirmed his abilities. He was also recognized as a model civil servant in 2013 and his downfall has undermined on President Ma Ying-jeou's attempt to foster a perception of the KMT as a clean party in contrast to its fabled corruption of the past.

When Premier Jiang Yi-huah was interior minister, he received two tip-offs concerning Yeh, which urged that it should be investigated whether Yeh was in the habit of leaving work early and claims that engaged in suspicious social activities. This was evidently not enough to prevent him from taking bribes, however.

When Ma took office as president in 2008, he demanded all civil servants submit notification prior to engaging in social activities. When one of Ma's proteges, Lin Yi-shih, then secretary-general of the Executive Yuan, was found to have extorted a Kaohsiung businessman, a further crackdown on corruption was supposed to have been implemented.

Wu Chih-yang told the Taoyuan council on June 3 that "he did not know about Yeh's reputation," admitting that he had appointed the wrong person as his deputy.

While Premier Jiang has acknowledged he received communications concerning Yeh, Wu Den-yih, who was premier at the time and is now vice president, was swift to say that Jiang did not brief him on the matter. But the central government may be naive if it considers Yeh to be simply an individual case.

Investigators have suggested that the investigation has just begun and that more scandals concerning more people are likely to come to light.