Ma Ying-jeou Foundation Controversy Continues, Hsiao Hsu-tsung: Willing to Cooperate with Judicial Investigation

Central News Agency, Taipei, June 2. The controversy surrounding the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation continues to escalate. Media reports indicate that regarding the donations from Taiwanese businessmen that Hsiao Hsu-tsung and Wang Kuang-tzu had previously claimed, the foundation found after auditing the accounts that the donors did not have a background as Taiwanese businessmen. Hsiao Hsu-tsung said today that the case has already entered judicial proceedings, and he is willing to cooperate with the judicial investigation, believing that the rumors and smears by interested parties and some media will eventually be clarified. Former Ma Ying-jeou Foundation employees Hsiao Hsu-tsung and Wang Kuang-tzu are suspected of violating financial discipline. Mirror Media reported today that Hsiao and Wang claimed that many donors did not want to be exposed, so they changed the donations to gifts to former President Ma Ying-jeou personally. However, the account books show that the foundation has long accepted anonymous donations, and there are many records in the account books listed as 'Anonymous' or 'Kind Person'. Hsiao Hsu-tsung issued a statement today saying that the case has entered judicial proceedings, and based on the principle of non-disclosure of investigation, he does not intend to make public statements. However, interested parties are using his inconvenience to speak out to continue spreading rumors, and some media are using this situation to spread false information to achieve the goal of smearing him, making it impossible for him to clarify for himself. For example, he has not been interviewed by the current person in charge of the foundation at all, but the report says he has been interviewed, which are all false information. Hsiao Hsu-tsung said that the board's three-person investigation team already has a relevant report, and it will also be subject to judicial investigation in the future. He believes that the rumors and smears by interested parties and some media will eventually be clarified. He has asked his lawyer to collect evidence and asked interested parties and the media to exercise self-restraint and not to maliciously leak information during the investigation period.