Taiwan presidential hopeful on trial in, outside court
Taipei,
Apr
1:
He
goes
on
trial
for
corruption
on
Tuesday
and
Ma
Ying-jeou's
behaviour
both
inside
and
outside
court
could
determine
whether
he
remains
front-runner
to
become
Taiwan's
next
president.
Ma,
a
charismatic
figure
with
good
looks
and
a
hitherto
clean
image,
will
enter
uncharted
territory
when
he
appears
in
court
to
face
charges
of
misappropriating
T.2
million
(339,000
dollar)
of
funds
under
his
control
while
he
was
mayor
of
Taipei.
The
trial
is
taking
place
in
the
wider
public
domain
too,
as
Taiwan
voters
take
in
what
is
likely
to
be
one
of
the
most
widely
watched
cases
in
recent
memory.
''The
way
he
appears
in
court
will
be
very
important
to
his
image,''
said
Lo
Chih-cheng,
chairman
of
the
political
science
department
at
Soochow
University.
''In
the
past
his
image
was
very
clean,
but
as
a
result
of
showing
up
in
court
his
image
can
only
be
hurt.''
Ma
was
chairman
of
the
main
opposition
Nationalist
Party
(KMT)
when
a
government
prosecutor
filed
charges
against
him
in
February
alleging
improper
use
of
government
funds.
He
immediately
embarked
on
a
damage-control
campaign,
declaring
his
innocence,
resigning
as
KMT
chairman
and
announcing
his
candidacy
for
president
in
one
fell
swoop.
His
main
rival
for
the
KMT
nomination
is
Wang
Jin-pyng,
the
speaker
of
parliament.
Wang
himself
is
seeking
to
drum
up
support
with
a
planned
high-profile
visit
to
China
including
a
potential
meeting
with
President
Hu
Jintao.
Local
media
said
the
visit
was
likely
to
take
place
this
month.
A
Wang
spokesman
confirmed
the
trip
was
in
the
works,
but
said
dates
and
an
agenda
had
yet
to
be
finalised.
Beijing
insists
the
democratic
island
remains
a
part
of
China
and,
given
a
choice
between
Taiwan's
political
groupings,
it
backs
the
KMT,
which
once
ruled
the
entire
mainland
and
remains
committed
to
eventual
reunification.
Victory
for
the
KMT
candidate
in
the
next
presidential
election,
tentatively
set
for
March
2008,
could
augur
a
thaw
in
cross-Strait
relations.
The
ruling
pro-independence
Democratic
Progressive
Party
has
a
much
icier
relationship
with
China.
Its
own
image
has
been
tarnished
over
the
last
year
by
a
series
of
scandals
surrounding
President
Chen
Shui-bian
and
his
aides
and
family.
In
the
most
high
profile
of
those,
Chen's
wife,
Wu
Shu-chen,
is
currently
on
trial
for
charges
similar
to
those
Ma
faces.
Image
issues
aside,
Ma's
other
main
challenge
will
be
balancing
the
demands
of
his
trial,
which
could
yield
a
verdict
before
the
election,
with
the
commitments
of
a
busy
campaign.
''There's
the
negative
issue,
but
more
important
is,
he'll
have
to
allocate
his
time
to
the
court
case,''
Lo
said.
Reuters