Ma Ying-jeou allies double down on accusations against ex-employees

Taipei, May 25 (CNA) An associate of former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Monday publicly accused two ex-employees of Ma's foundation of financial misconduct, despite an internal investigation that cleared the two of wrongdoing a day earlier.

In a statement issued Sunday, an investigative committee said it had not found evidence that the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation's former chief executive Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) and employee Wang Kuang-tzu (王光慈) had committed breaches of financial discipline.

Later that day, Ma rejected the investigation results, saying the foundation had incriminating evidence against the pair, which he would ask his current foundation chair, Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡), to share with the public.

At the press conference Monday, Tai, along with King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), a Ma associate and former secretary-general of the National Security Council, and two others presented what they claimed was evidence against Hsiao and Wang.

Tai presented a photo which she said showed Hsiao meeting with Song Tao (宋濤), director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, in China in his capacity as vice chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) on Oct. 28 of last year.

The photo also appeared to show Wang and two members of the three-person investigative committee -- foundation board members Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) and Lee De-wei (李德維) -- at the meeting with them.

Tai said Ma was "completely unaware" of the meeting, and questioned whether the investigative committee members had covered for Hsiao and Wang during their probe, either because of their personal relationship or for other reasons.

Chou Chih-cheng (周志誠), an accountant hired to review the foundation's financial records, said that in all previous years the foundation gave its employees their annual bonuses via bank transfers, while also reporting the bonuses as taxable income.

In early 2026, however, Wang distributed the 2025 annual bonuses to employees in cash, without making any record of them in the foundation's accounts or indicating the source of the funds, Chou said.

King alleged that in December 2025 or January 2026, Wang brought NT$1.20 million (US$38,159) in cash into the foundation's office, saying she had received the money from Hsiao and asking the employees to look after it.

Foundation employees, concerned about the source of the funds, took photos of the cash to document what had happened, he said.

On Feb. 10 of this year, King said, the foundation held its year-end banquet, without inviting Ma. That same day, Wang distributed annual bonuses to each employee in cash, saying the funds had been "donated" by a Taiwanese businessperson and that they did not have to pay taxes on it, King claimed.

According to Chou, this chain of events represented a clear breach of financial discipline by Wang.

King, meanwhile, went on to present a photo of Hsiao and Han Ying-huan (韓螢煥), head of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, posing with what appears to be two large bundles of cash.

King added that he and an accountant had checked the foundation's accounts over the past two years and found no record of the cash, and that he did not know how such a photo could be explained.

Hsiao's defense

Following the press conference, Hsiao said he planned to file a lawsuit against King and the other speakers at the press conference for spreading false information about him, while also responding to the accusations against him.

He said the cash seen in the photo was donated by Taiwanese businesses and business people in China due to the impending end of Ma's "post-presidential privileges."

In Taiwan, ex-presidents are entitled to statutory "courtesy treatments," including a monthly pension of NT$250,000 for a duration equal to the time spent in office. For Ma, who was president from 2008-2016, these ended in 2024.

According to Hsiao, when he asked Ma in March 2024 what he should do with the cash, Ma told him it should be used for the foundation's needs.

Hsiao did not say, but has previously suggested, that Ma is suffering from dementia and has "forgotten many things" in recent years.

Background

Hsiao and Wang left their positions in late February amid allegations of a "power struggle" at the foundation.

The controversy at the foundation has unfolded alongside rumors that the 75-year-old former president is suffering from dementia, which recently spilled out into the open.

In a statement issued last Thursday, Ma's wife, Chow Mei-ching (周美青), said that in order to ensure Ma Ying-jeou's "future medical needs and care are properly arranged," she and other Ma family relatives had agreed to appoint Ma's sister, Ma Yi-nan (馬以南), as his "main executor," and, when necessary, to make statements on behalf of the family.

In the statement, Ma Yi-nan said the family hoped this would allow Ma to "truly retire and enjoy his remaining years, with all foundation affairs handed over to the board of directors."

According to media reports, Ma Yi-nan filed a request with the Taipei District Court to be made Ma Ying-jeou's court-appointed trustee, which would require her to sign off on any major financial or legal decisions made by Ma.

On Friday, Ma Ying-jeou issued a scathing response to his wife and sister, saying their statement had been issued without his approval and had left him "deeply shocked and regretful."

In the statement -- which was published as a handwritten letter, along with a short video, apparently to dispel doubts about Ma's soundness of mind -- Ma also said Ma Yi-nan "absolutely cannot" be in charge of his medical or other personal affairs.