星島日報2008年08月22日
本報記者陳慧如洛杉磯報導
再度遭指名為陳水扁洗錢管道幕後金主的美國福爾摩莎基金會，其創辦人、前總統府資政吳澧培再度宣稱，基金會早在2004年已經公開帳務，而目前當家的執行主任賈泰麗(Terri Giles)21日在洛杉磯也提出嚴正抗議，認為是台灣政黨惡鬥，此舉只會加重海外宣揚台灣民主的工作。
在海外成立「美國福爾摩沙基金會」的前總統府資政吳澧培向媒體表示，早在2004年總統大選時，他便曾接受媒體專訪，公開美國福爾摩沙基金會的運作與帳務，從此以後也再沒有人會對美國福爾摩沙基金會提出質疑。吳澧培更嗆聲邱毅，要指控先拿出證據。
基金會執行主任賈泰麗表示，邱毅的指控完全與事實不符合，美國福爾摩莎基金會是不分藍綠等政治立場，長年在海外為台灣民主發聲的。認為藍營立委的質疑，簡直就是對她的直接控訴。賈泰麗強調，基金會于2001年由吳澧培創立，但在3年前因為吳澧培放棄美國籍返台，基金會就由賈泰麗接管負責，而吳澧培更退出基金會委員董事，沒有參與任何財務資金，更沒有參與基金會的營運。
但賈泰麗坦言，如果洗錢案是真的，那是台灣的悲劇，但現階段政府更要關心的事，應該是台灣的民主前途發展，與獲得國際社會的認同。
據了解，基金會運作經費主要靠各界支持捐款與申請經費補助，每年活動包括青年親善大使培訓營，提供台美兩地的莘莘學子到白宮實習，並大力爭取國會議員對台灣民主人權及自由的支持。
該基金會為一教育性質的非營利機構，藉由與美國智庫、媒體與學術界的交流合作，強化美國主流社會對台灣的認識與支持。
Over the last few years legislator Chiu Yi of the KMT has been making all sorts of allegations about the Chen family and the DPP and associated organizations, the vast majority of which have turned out to be false (Chiu Yi is described in detail in this great post on Wandering to Tamshui). Chiu Yi routinely gets sued and just as routinely loses (see here the most recent example). As the self-appointed attack dog of the KMT, Chiu Yi has been out and about hacking on Green institutions, one of which is the Formosa Foundation, a foundation dedicated to the advancement of human rights, democracy, and self-determination for Taiwan. He claimed that Chen Shui-bian had laundered money through the foundation. This morning Terri Giles, the Executive Director, was kind enough to provide me with the Foundation's response:
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Political Lies Masquerading as Truth
Convicted Slanderer Chiu Yi is Back in Business
It seems the muckraking tradition is alive and well in Taiwan. Taiwan legislator Chiu Yi of the KMT recently held a press conference in Taiwan where he wrongly accused the Formosa Foundation and its honorary chairman Li Pei Wu of being involved in alleged money laundering of which former president Chen Shui-bian and his family have been accused. This claim is completely untrue and an absolute fabrication by Chiu.
In a desperate act to vilify the Formosa Foundation, and the important work that the organization has done promoting Taiwan's democracy, Chui has created a false controversy. It is a matter of public record that this legislator has previously been sued for, and found guilty of, slander. In fact, Chiu has served jail time as a result of his slanderous comments and has a history of making unfounded allegations smearing innocent people and organizations. Now he has targeted the Formosa Foundation for his unfounded and outrageous allegations in an effort to promote his political agenda while we are forced to defend our reputation from these baseless attacks. Chiu's behavior should be unacceptable to all Taiwanese and Americans.
We urge Chinese - language and English - language media to check facts before reporting any of Chiu's allegations as truth. The Formosa Foundation, a Los Angeles based non-profit organization, has spent years working to educate the American public about the importance of supporting Taiwan's democracy. The organization has a hard won and well deserved reputation as an honest and effective advocate. Each year the Formosa Foundation trains students to become activists for democracy.
The Foundation has made a tremendous difference in the way Congress and the American public view Taiwan and should be supported rather than the victim of vicious lies.
Democracy, the old American saying goes, is a contact sport. You expect vigorous give-and-take, and you allow for a certain amount of rhetorical spin. But blatant lies and smears are an attempt to undermine democracy. No one should tolerate politics based on fabricating allegations with complete disregard for the truth. The Formosa Foundation demands that Chiu halt his slanderous comments and call upon the media to act responsibly in publishing such falsehoods.
Terri Giles, Executive Director
Formosa Foundation
Based in Los Angeles, CA, the Formosa Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting greater understanding of the relationship between Taiwan and the United States, and preserving and enhancing democracy, human rights and freedom for the people of Taiwan.
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1 comment:
Chiu Yi is an irresponsible person, the shame of Taiwanese. Unfortunately, the current law of Taiwan can't stop him making false statement. What can we do? We can only hope KMT, one day, be aware that the level of we Taiwanese is not that low and stop using Chiu Yi as its attack dog and win people's support with their political achievement.
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