Call Chen a chameleon if you will. Just a couple of weeks ago he feigned illness and staged a high-profiled hunger strike to show his "determination to die" for his "original sin" of advocating Taiwan independence. He appeared in court in handcuffs with disheveled hair and a haggard look to present an image of a victim of what he called political persecution.

This week, however, he morphed into another man -- a Superman or Mr. Spock-daunting and indestructible. First, he told a visitor at the Taipei detention center in Tucheng that he plans to establish a "Taiwan Independence Party" with the support of his followers to carry out the goal of "nation founding." He has no qualms whatsoever for having breached his oath of office to preserve and protect the Constitution of the Republic of China.

Then he told the court, presided over by judge Tsai Shou-hsun, that he has done nothing wrong, and argued strongly that all the previous evidence against him -- including video-taped confessions and guilty pleas by many key defendants -- is inadmissible in court.

He denied that he had anything to do with the billions of dollars discovered by the Egmont Group, an international anti money-laundering organization, and the NT$700 million in cash found in a secret cache in Taipei, together with a bag of diamonds, ranging from one to five karats, worth more than NT$200 million. The only thing he knew, he admitted last August in public, is that his wife Wu Shu-chen told him as late as January 2008 that she had wired a portion of the "left-over campaign contributions" to overseas accounts, without his knowledge, to be used for the purpose of "furthering the cause of Taiwan independence."

Chen, a lawyer by training, knows better than any one else that there is no way he could absolve himself of the charges against him except to politicize the case. And he has taken steps to change the nature of the case from graft to political persecution by his political enemies-the ruling Kuomintang in collusion with the Chinese communists .

So, it is not surprising that Chen set off a bombshell this week that he plans to establish a Taiwan Independence Party-a carefully-calculated move to blur the focus and to make people believe that the billions of dollars are indeed stashed away for achieving the goal of Taiwan independence, not bribes.But here is the rub: the Democratic Progressive Party, of which he was once its leader, has been a party advocating Taiwan independence since its founding in 1986. Why establish another party to compete with the DPP? The reason is not difficult to see. Chen desperately needs politics to come to his rescue, even at the expense of the DPP, which needs unity after the party's debacle in the 2008 presidential election.

Some of Chen's old comrades at the DPP are not amused by the bombshell. However, many in the KMT are immensely amused. Legislator Lee Ching-hua quipped: "Chen's Taiwan Independence Party would better be called 'Taiwan Imposters Party' (TIP) with a fitting emblem of a five-karat diamond." Spot-on observation, isn't it? A five-karat diamond for TIP? There should be no shortage of followers, with diamond lighting the way.

Of late, the struggling former president talks and acts only in political language. He has just published a book he penned behind bars, written poems, and composed a number of songs singing the praises of Taiwan, and wrapped himself in Taiwanese flag, now studded with diamonds. This week, his lawyers and his office spokesman indicated that Chen is demanding to meet foreign journalists to bring his case to the world. Wang Ching-feng, the justice minister, told lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan that her ministry would grant permission to foreign journalists requesting interviews with Chen, provided that such interviews possess "educational functions" for the general public.

But I tend to believe it would be a good idea to open the case to the foreign media even if there are no "educational functions." For one thing, Taiwan is a democratic country with a free press. But more important is the fact that Taiwan today is a place where "the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity" just as the Irish poet lamented 90 years ago. It is better to let the world's prestigious journalists come here and find out the truth. That is, to do Chen Shui-bian the justice he deserves if he is innocent, and to expose his true colors if he is indeed guilty.

There is only one truth in this case: Corruption or no corruption; justice or travesty of justice. It brooks no cover-up. If our judiciary is blamed, fairly or unfairly, for being less than independent, let the credible foreign journalists help us find out.

Chen Shui-bian's frothy-mouthed drivel in court, defiant and unchastened, evokes the images of Ron Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois who was impeached and ousted from office two months ago for "plotting to sell" Illinois' senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. "Blago" too, denied he had ever done anything wrong. Yes, if by A-bian's standard. The youthful-looking Serb descendant was only guilty of "plotting" to sell the plum position, and had his political career ruined. Was Blagojevich aggrieved? The international media showed no sympathy for him. It seems, therefore, our ex-president may have made the wrong bet by trying to politicize his case with the help of foreign media, which may cut both ways.