Mayoral candidate under corruption probe

　Su Jia-chyuan is being investigated for giving a NT$20,000 “meal bonus” to a high school baseball team representing Taiwan in the PONY Baseball League in the U.S. at a time when he was running for election.

Su presented the bonus at a public event on Aug. 5 to mark the departure of the Shi Yuan Senior High School baseball team for the U.S. He was accompanied by DPP Taichung Legislator Chang Liao Wang-Chien, who also served as the director of the baseball team's fan club.

Su yesterday accused the prosecutors of double-standards. The candidate questioned why he was under investigation for election bribery while his rival, incumbent Taichung Mayor Jason Hu of the ruling Kuomintang was not, even though Hu had hosted a tuna feast for a separate baseball team from the same school after it won the 2010 IBAF World Junior Baseball Championship.

Su said that he was only showing his support to Taiwan's athletes by rewarding them before their victory instead of sharing their glory after they were triumphant.

In response, Hu said that he hosted the feast in the capacity of the Taichung mayor instead of a candidate and that the expenses were covered by a restaurant owner. He said that his celebration feast was a completely different matter to Su's “meal bonus”, because “they were given to two different teams.” However, Hu emphasized that he will respect the police's decision if they think an investigation is appropriate.

　　Su also called for the prosecutors to interrogate him instead of bothering the baseball team's manager. The prosecutors Monday invited Huang Wu-hsiung (?AaZ?¯), manager of the Shi Yuan Senior High School baseball team, to Taichung Police 6th Precinct to “explain the case.” The Chinese language newspaper Liberty Times quoted Huang as saying afterwards that he felt “humiliated” by the experience and said he was treated “like a criminal.”

The prosecutors said that they initiated the probe only after they received intelligence on the case, adding that Huang was not summoned for interrogation but was invited to give his explanation of events. At this stage the prosecutors said they do not have a specific suspect and have yet to decide whether to summon Su for questioning.

Shi Yuan's Principal Peng Tian-xing said he found it unbelievable that the team's manager and some of its players were questioned by the police. “The team was only fifth in the PONY league match and all the players cannot yet vote, what does the team have to do with election bribery?” he asked, adding that he worried the turn of events will affect the team's morale.

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