im.B Fraud Case Shows How the DPP is Sinking
United Daily News Editorial, May 27, 2023
The “im.B fraud case” is experiencing a snowball effect. It was a fraud scheme in the name of a “property and loan platform” to collect money from investors by promising a 9 to 12 percent high annual return, and ended up defrauding 5,000 victims out of NT$2.5 billion (about US$84 million). Recent reports disclosed that the main suspect, Mr. Tseng Kuo-wei (also known as Tseng Yao-feng), was allegedly familiar with people from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and had offered them vehicles and houses. It was further reported that some senior officials of the DPP, high-level police officers, and wanted criminals had dined at the same table, participated in an "investment," and tried to get back the money shortly after the breakout of fraud. This case can be regarded as a super scandal in the late stage of President Tsai Ing-wen's tenure, and it is also the biggest stumbling block in the presidential road of DPP Chairman William Lai.
Faced with such a problem, the DPP downplayed the case as a "little evil" in an attempt to dismiss it hastily. Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan participated in the suspect’s direct-selling company events and had taken photos with him. Premier Chen Chien-jen lightly said that this "does not help in the fight against fraud and is unfair to those involved.” On top of this, the DPP Legislator Chen Ou-po took the offers from a wanted criminal. However, the ethics committee of the DPP only issued a warning as penalty. DPP Chairman William Lai declared that he would use the "highest standard" to reform and fight against black money, but when faced with this case, he dodged it on the grounds that "normal social activities do not be distorted," and his spokesman criticized that the opposition “focuses on these kinds of minor matters all day long, but what the president cares about are not these.” In the eyes of the DPP, what cases would be considered "abnormal" and "substantial"?
When the im.B fraud case exploded, it attracted public attention because more than 5,000 people were victimized and the amount of fraud reached up to NT$2.5 billion. People were curious as to why the relevant ministries dealt with this case so passively, showing no determination to fight fraud. Fortunately, the opposition parties and the media kept digging, and in this "little garden" where im.B and the green camp co-exist, many strange secrets and truths were unearthed.
In addition to some heavyweight DPP members visiting the main suspect’s private guesthouses and taking photos together, Mr. Su Chia-chuan, former Secretary-General of the Office of the President, and Chen Chia-chin, former director of the Police Department, also had a banquet with the suspect. It can be seen that Tseng’s political and business connections are deep and extensive, and this has affected the investigation of the case.
Other than the entanglements in political and business relations, the development of the case has further revealed black money corruption. The family of DPP Legislator Chen Ou-po was forced to announce his withdrawal from the election after it was revealed that he had a complicated relationship with the suspect Tseng and used the house and car provided by the suspect for free. Former New Power Party Legislator Huang Kuo-chang said that some investigators were involved, and KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei even claimed that the Bureau of Investigation personnel invested tens of millions of dollars and that prosecutors and the suspect met at high-end restaurants. Then Chen Wan-hui, a legislator of the People's Party, also unveiled a group photo of Huang Yu-lin, former deputy director of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and Chu Lai-shun, deputy director of Taiwan Railways, drinking and having fun at Tseng's mansion on workdays.
Indeed, it is not fair to make up a story from those photos and make wild guesses. Yet, having dinner at the same table in private is another matter as having fun together in a private guesthouse affirms their “identity.” Moreover, the meeting will inevitably involve sensitive topics, attempts to build a network of interests, or even formation of cliques. Tseng was sentenced four times in court and was wanted four times by police. He changed his name several times and remained at large. Now, he is leisurely connecting with incumbent officials including the premier, secretary-general, legislators, bureau directors, and investigators of the Tsai government, and using his network to cheat. Can the Tsai administration say they are innocent and have been wronged?
The DPP only gave a “warning” as a penalty to Chen Ou-po who accepted the housing and car provided by the main suspect of the fraud group. This clearly insults the wisdom of the people. If Chen were a civil servant, then this would be a quasi-corruption crime. Even if he were a member of congress or city council, it is very likely that he did not take money directly to avoid people finding out or to take advantage of legal loopholes. However, this is still tantamount to taking people's hard-earned money indirectly. Is this what the DPP calls a "normal social interaction" or a "trivial thing"? Not only that, the green camp even took the opportunity to spread photos of politicians from the blue camp (opposition) and those related to im.B; it can be seen that the DPP administration only wants to evade this problem, and has no intention to combat fraud. This kind of collective perdition is probably the only one seen in history, and it also shows that Mr. Lai’s vow to "reform black money" has been proven to be a lie.
The DPP is the ruling party, and Mr. Lai is DPP’s high-profile presidential candidate. The opposition parties must vigorously examine this case. Otherwise, once "Lai succeeds Tsai as president,” and DPP continues in power, who can guarantee that the newly appointed political officials, civilian representatives, and ranking officers will not be another batch of corrupted "Chen Ou-pos"? Who can guarantee that the investigation of the fraud will be started as soon as possible, instead of deliberately slowed down to let the investigators get their "investment" back first?
It is not surprising that the DPP, which has been in power for seven years, has such a deep involvement with black money. The reason for this is that the supervision system has been idle in recent years, and the DPP officials have luxuriously enjoyed the flattery and support of businessmen. Who remembers that there is a line between officials and businessmen that cannot be crossed?