-jeou, considered a front-runner to become the island's next president in 2008, for corruption. The development has created a crisis for Ma and his Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the Nationalist Party.
Ma has been charged with embezzling funds from a mayoral allowance during his tenure as Taipei mayor from 1998-2006.
"The defendant is accused of having embezzled more than NT$11 million Taiwan dollars (US$333,000) in special expenses as Taipei mayor," Chang Wen-cheng, spokesman for the Public Prosecutors' Office of the Taiwan High Court, told reporters at a packed press conference.
The investigation showed the money had been wired into Ma's account from December 1998 to July 2006, "although it was not supposed to be part of his personal income," Chang said. "It should be used for public affairs."
If convicted, Ma would face a minimum of seven years in jail. The prosecutor, however, has requested leniency on grounds that the former Taipei mayor had donated NT$15 million to charity late last year and that he had fully cooperated with the investigation.
The indictment decision did not come as too much of a surprise, for both Premier Su Tseng-chang and President Chen Shui-bian have stressed the case should be vigorously pursued. The prosecutor was working under extreme pressure. He probably had no choice.
But if Ma is indicted for using the funds in his "special use allowance," so should the thousands of officials at various levels of the government who also have such an allowance, including all the other mayors, county heads, the grand justices, and some prosecutors.
At any rate, the indictment has dealt a blow to the KMT, which has been striving to regain power after losing two presidential elections in a row. Ma, a political star with enormous popularity until recently, had been widely expected to win the 2008 presidential election because of his high approval ratings.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been in power for nearly seven years, but it has done little to make life better for the people. Social and economic problems such as unemployment and the income gap have changed from bad to worse.
These circumstances were expected to give the KMT a good opportunity to regain power.
The indictment decision by the High Court prosecutor has lessened the main opposition's chances of winning the presidency next year.
At a news conference he held at 6:00 p.m. Ma said, as he had promised, his decision to step down from his position as KMT chairman.
Nevertheless, he announced at the same time he will be a candidate in the 2008 presidential election, an announcement that sounded surprising to many people.
Ma's indictment has excited the "pan-green" alliance. The indictment charges come at a time when President Chen has been beset with financial scandals involving his wife, son-in-law and former aides. Chen is protected by presidential immunity from indictment, but his wife has been formally indicted by the Taipei District Court. His son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming, has been charged with insider trading and, as a result, lost his job as a doctor at the prestigious National Taiwan University Hospital.
Another KMT heavyweight who also plans run for president, Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jyn-ping, aims to become the KMT's candidate due to Ma's indictment.
Now that Ma has said in unequivocal terms he was going to run, there will probably be some heated competition between Wang and Ma in the months ahead.
According to KMT spokesman Su Chun-pin, Ma had reached an agreement with Honorary Chairman of the KMT Lien Chan during a recent meeting that the KMT must be fully united if it wants to triumph in the next presidential race. They shared the view that the party must field the most promising candidate, Su continued.
First Vice Chairman Wu Po-hsiung now serves as the acting chairman until a new chairman is elected within a maximum period of three months. Wu and Lien will play an important role in maintaining the unity of the party.
Despite the indictment against him, Ma is still a popular political figure enjoying widespread public support. Recent polls indicated he led the most promising DPP heavyweights by more than 20 percent. The KMT still stands a fairly good chance of winning the election if Ma is its candidate in the looming election.
However, the KMT will certainly lose again if it continues to be troubled by disharmony and disunity. Intraparty harmony can be maintained if the competition between Ma and Wang is resolved in a fair and democratic way.
