Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Fu Kun-chi/Facebook
THE DETENTION OF a member of Fu Kun-chi’s recent delegation to Hong Kong is likely to reflect badly on the KMT caucus leader, seeing as this took place during one of Fu’s increasingly common trips to China. Fu was traveling with his wife, Hsu Chen-wei, who is the Hualien county magistrate.
The individual in question, a woman surnamed Chen, was wanted over a money laundering case from 25 years ago. She is still in custody. She was apparently detained upon entrance to China, seeing as China does not have any statute of limitations for money laundering cases.
Fu did not report the detention to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) after the incident, nor did he seek any help for Chen. Fu has denied that the incident had anything to do with him, claiming that his visit was organized by others. Yet he has been criticized for failing to protect a member of his own delegation, as well as disregarding the safety of his fellow Taiwanese. The MAC also has stated that the incident shows that travel to Hong Kong can be dangerous for Taiwanese at present.
This is not the only incident that Fu has come under scrutiny for in connection to his recent trip to Hong Kong. Namely, Fu also came under fire for claiming to represent Taiwan’s central government in public comments during his trip, which took place in February.
Fu is, of course, the KMT caucus leader, but he does not represent the central government, which is DPP-controlled. At the same time, one wonders if the comments are reflective of his future political ambitions.
Moreover, Fu was criticized for attempting to pretend that his absence from cross-party negotiations between the DPP and KMT was not due to traveling to Hong Kong. During the trip, Fu posted a photo on social media of himself at home with a face mask and claimed that his absence was due to sickness. Yet Fu had, in fact, traveled to Hong Kong, something that was publicized by Legislative Yuan president Han Kuo-yu of the KMT.
Picture posted by Fu Kun-chi while claiming to be sick and at home during his trip. Photo credit: Fu Kun-chi/Facebook
Fu’s trips to Hong Kong and China are ostensibly for the purposes of promoting tourism. As it has done on many occasions in the past, the Chinese government has sought to credit Fu with lessening tensions and encouraging cross-strait exchanges, by announcing the relaxation of restrictions on tour groups for outlying islands of Taiwan after a visit to China by Fu in April of last year.
Fu is broadly understood as being behind the plethora of legal moves by the KMT in past months. Such efforts by the KMT include attempting to freeze the Constitutional Court, block or drastically cut the national budget, and to raise the barrier for recalls.
More generally, Fu has been accused of traveling to China to receive orders from his minders. The DPP has suggested that Fu engages in another round of measures in the Legislative Yuan whenever he returns from China, due to Chinese direction.
Either way, Fu has a preeminent place in the KMT at present, seeming to overshadow party chair Eric Chu, Legislative Yuan president Han Kuo-yu, and other KMT heavyweights. This proves an unusual turnabout for a politician who was historically tarred by scandal, controversial even within the KMT. Fu has been imprisoned in the past on charges of insider trading and paying off journalists for positive press.
Infamously, when about to be jailed on insider trading charges at a time when he was Hualien county commissioner, Fu divorced his wife, Hsu Chen-wei, and named her deputy county commissioner. Consequently, Hsu became acting Hualien county commissioner when Fu was jailed, so that he could rule Hualien in his stead. Hsu continues to be county commissioner, but for these actions and others, Fu has been termed “Hualien King” by his opponents. Fu Kun-chi has, too, faced allegations of vote buying within the KMT’s central committee elections.
Still, it proves unusual that the Hong Kong government would give the DPP ammunition by detaining a member of Fu’s delegation in this way. Regardless of how Fu attempts to spin the incident, it may not reflect well on him.