TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — KMT Vice Chair Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) announced Monday that he will file a lawsuit against former National Security Council Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) and others involved in a Ma Ying-jeou Foundation press conference, alleging they defamed him.
The announcement came after a three-member investigative panel cleared Hsiao and former foundation employee Wang Kuang-tzu (王光慈) on Sunday, per Storm Media. Despite the findings, the foundation held a separate press conference Monday to present what it described as supporting evidence.
The press conference was hosted by acting foundation chair Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) and attended by King, lawyer Huang I-hua (黃翊華), and foundation accountant Chou Chih-cheng (周志誠). Tai said former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) insisted on holding the event because he believed the panel’s conclusions deviated significantly from the evidence submitted by the foundation.
Discussing possible financial misconduct, Huang alleged that Hsiao and Wang may have accepted donations from unidentified sources without recording them in the foundation’s accounts. Chou said Wang, who oversaw the foundation’s finances, distributed 2026 year-end bonuses in cash instead of through the foundation’s usual practice of bank transfers.
Chou added that there was no documentation tracing the source of the funds, as neither bank records nor accounting entries reflected the payments. King also displayed a photograph that he said showed Hsiao receiving a stack of cash from a Taiwanese businessperson in China, per ETtoday.
Tai also alleged that Hsiao led a delegation that included Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) and Lee Te-wei (李德維) to meet with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) in 2025 without informing Ma beforehand, per Liberty Times. She suggested Hsueh and Lee may have had reasons to shield Hsiao during the investigation.
King also alleged that Wang had attempted to marginalize Ma within the foundation and replace him with Hsueh as chair, per ETtoday. He said foundation employees recalled Wang discussing plans not to renew the lease on Ma’s office and vehicle in order to “send the boss home.”
Citing statements from foundation employees, King alleged that Wang deliberately avoided Ma for more than a year after becoming the foundation’s executive officer. He also repeated earlier accusations that the investigative panel focused more on questions about Ma’s health than on allegations of financial misconduct involving Hsiao and Wang.
In response, Hsiao said some donations were kept off official records because certain Taiwanese businesspeople preferred to donate directly to Ma after he stopped receiving the presidential pension, per Storm Media. Hsiao said Ma told him the money would be used for official purposes and that such arrangements had been understood internally.
Hsiao added that most of the information presented at Monday’s press conference had already been reviewed by the investigative panel and would appear in its report. He accused King of spreading misinformation and said he would pursue legal action.
Hsiao also called on the panel to publicly release its fact-finding results.
