Ex-mayor Ready for Trial

Taiwan opposition leader and presidential hopeful Ma Ying-jeou is going on trial in a corruption case which could decide 2008's election.

He is accused of misappropriating T$11.2 million ($339,000) of funds while mayor of Taipei.

Mr. Ma resigned from his position as head of the Kuomintang party shortly after the charges were announced, but said he would clear his name.

He has denied graft charges, and is a frontrunner in the presidential race.

The former mayor is expected to defend himself on his first court date on Tuesday.

"The way he appears in court will be very important to his image," Lo Chih-cheng, chairman of the political science department at Soochow University, told the Reuters news agency.

"In the past his image was very clean, but as a result of showing up in court his image can only be hurt."

Mr. Ma was charged with improper use of government funds in February - and resigned as Kuomintang chairman, protested his innocence and pledged to stand for president all at once.

He is facing four rivals from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who are seeking nomination from their party.

The candidates are Vice President Annette Lu, Premier Su Tseng-chang, former premier Frank Hsieh, and former party chairman Yu Hsyi-kun.

The investigation into his finances began in mid-November after allegations that he had shifted money from a special fund into a personal account during his time as mayor, from 1998 to 2006.

If convicted, he would face at least seven years in prison. However, prosecutors have already asked for leniency because of his co-operation with the investigation.


News Website: BBC