By Andy Howlett '10
Staff Writer

The saga of the would-be 1L, Chen Chih-chung, who was dropped from the Class of 2011 when he failed to show up at the Law School’s orientation last August while responding to a subpoena in his native Taiwan, seemed to take a turn for the worst this week when Chen and his wife, Huang Jui-ching, plead guilty to money laundering-related fraud. Mr. Chen’s removal from the 1L class sparked a brief fury of interest in the Law School from the Taiwanese media. Chen Chih-chung is the son of former President and leader of the Taiwanese Independence Movement Chen Shui-bian.

Addressing the media in Taipei with his wife, who was holding back tears, the Taipei Times reported Chen admitted that he had laundered money. “I didn’t clearly differentiate between laundering money and handling funds,” he said in front of the Taipei District Court. Prosecutors believe that the younger Chen was instrumental in helping his father embezzle and launder over nine million dollars. Chen Chih-chung and his wife have already promised to give hundreds of thousands dollars of ill-gotten monies back to the Taiwanese government. More information about both the scope of Chih-chung’s involvement and his punishment should surface in the coming days and at Chih-chung’s next court hearing on February 24.

The saga involving Chen Chih-cheng’s removal from the Law School and subsequent indictment has been a polarizing issue for many who follow Taiwanese politics, and this latest development has done little to sanitize the situation. An op-ed published in the United Daily News by a writer sympathetic to former President Chen’s opposition declared that Chen Chih-chung’s plea would make it virtually impossible for the elder-Chen to escape conviction. Since Chen Shui-bian’s incarceration, he has become a sort of hero to many, even going on a hunger strike to protest his treatment and declare his innocence.

Other’s were skeptical. One commenter noted that the party in opposition to Chen Shui-bian “removed a judge who ruled in a way it didn’t like, and moved [President] Chen’s case to a more pliable judge. The political signal is clear that President Chen must and shall be convicted. Hence the children had no choice but to plead . . . guilty.”

Recent events have helped put Chen Chih-chung’s removal from the Law School in perspective. At the time, Chen protested his removal for missing orientation and said that the charges against him and his family were without merit, seemingly implying that his removal was politically motivated. Now, with Chen having pled guilty, it would seem to have made continuing his studies at the Law School very difficult.