Chen said while controversies surrounding his use of presidential expenses could be solved by an interpretation of the constitution, the disputes over other officials’ special expenses could be settled by a revision to the law.

He said the problems concerning the expenses either for the president or other officials are “historical” ones which have been exposed during the ongoing transition towards full democracy.

The problems are no longer legal cases, as they are heavily loaded with political rhetoric.

“We don’t want to see legal matters being politicized. Neither is it good to see politics being treated as legal matters,” said Chen.

But he said sometimes political measures may not be the only way to solve political problems.

“Political problems may sometimes be solved through legal measures,” Chen said, referring to the possibilities of re-reading the constitution or revising the law to settle the disputes over the expenses.

Chen has come under fire for allegedly misusing the presidential expenses, with first lady Wu Shu-chen being tried on charges that she used fake receipts to claim from the president’s expense account.

Claiming that the expenses in question had been used for secret diplomatic missions, he has refused to disclose what he calls national secrets concerning the missions.

He has asked the Council of Grand Justices to look into the constitution and clarify the parts governing the presidential authority over national secrets.

Ma, chairman of the main opposition Kuomintang, is being investigated for allegedly misusing the mayoral expenses while heading the Taipei City government.

Ma yesterday told KMT members during a meeting in Hsinchu that he will step down from the party’s top post if indicted on embezzlement charges over the expenses.

Saying that party rules require an indicted chairman to step down, Ma said that he did not feel “set up” by anyone.

It has been widely reported that prosecutors will soon conclude their probe into Ma’s case before Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb. 18 this year.

Asked whether he is confident of winning the 2008 presidential election, Ma said that he is determined to transform the KMT into a clean political party and seek the chance to serve the country.

Ma said that if he is elected, the KMT will not advocate Taiwan independence but instead will try to improve Taiwan’s relations with China and build peace in the Taiwan Strait.

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