Chen Shui-bian, former President of the Republic of China, stepped down on May 20, 2008, the same day that Ma Ying-jeou took office as the new President of the Republic of China.[1] About an hour after he left the Presidential Office Building, as a former President of the Republic of China and no longer enjoying presidential immunity, he was arrested and restricted from leaving the nation by Taiwanese prosecutors due to allegations of corruption and abuse of authority. Chen was accused of fraud in a case involving the handling of a special presidential fund used to pursue Taiwan's foreign diplomacy. However, the Special Investigation Division dropped money-laundering charges because of a lack of evidence.
President Ma Ying-jeou moved to declassify documents that would aid in the investigation of the former president's use of special expenses. President Ma was then sued by Chen's lawyers on August 6, 2008, who called Ma's declassification of case-aiding documents "politically motivated." The documents which were sought were classified earlier by Chen. The documents are mostly receipts and records of use of special expenses.[2]
- ^ Ralph Jennings, "Taiwan new leader takes office on China pledges" Archived 2012-12-16 at archive.today, Reuters (International Herald Tribune), May 20, 2008.
- ^ "AFP, Taiwan leader sued for declassifying documents in graft probe".