Clinton fund scandal gathers force

Clinton fund scandal gathers force

No less an authority than Stephen Ambrose, historian of the
Eisenhower and Nixon presidencies, fears a parallel between
Nixon's scandal-haunted re-election in 1972 and Clinton's in
1996. Our Asia correspondent Harvey Stockwin reports on the
development of what has already been dubbed "Indongate" in some
U.S. papers.

HONG KONG (JP): Asia secured a niche for itself in the recent
American presidential election in the worst possible way.

As a result, there is a very real risk that Asia will continue
to intrude into U.S. domestic politics in a way that could be
disadvantageous to Asia's interests, and also to re-elected U.S.
President Bill Clinton's future place in history.

Asian realities ought to have imposed themselves upon the
presidential campaign simply because of their increasing
importance in world affairs.

In security terms, the candidates ought to have debated
China's present role and the appropriate responses. Bob Dole
could have asked Bill Clinton why it was that he urged toughness
towards the "butchers of Beijing" when defeating George Bush, but
had then been softer than Bush on China since taking office.
Clinton should have justified his 180 degree about face.

In economic terms, the two candidates could have discussed
what the slightly reduced U.S. trade deficit with Japan, and the
fast rising deficit with China mean for U.S. trade and financial
interests. Instead, they never touched upon it.

China's recent bellicose stance towards Taiwan, North Korea's
refusal to abide by the 1953 Korean armistice agreement, India's
refusal to sign the nuclear Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the
shaky future of the U.S. military bases in Japan -- all these and
many other issues ought to have at least secured some mention in
the extended election campaign. As they all involve vital U.S.
interests, extensive debate would have been appropriate.

But, of course, issues such as these can hardly be compressed
into a ninety-second campaign advertisement, now the main source
of communication in U.S. democratic discourse.

However, it can be said the Clintonites do appear to have
recognized one East Asian reality -- the region's rapidly
growing wealth and its consequent ability to provide funds,
legally or illegally, for American politicians.

The highly questionable relationship between East Asian wealth
and the Clinton campaign was the means for Asia's entry into the
presidential campaign. Sleaze rather than serious discussion of
key issues looks likely to continue to dominate U.S. perceptions
of Asia, as Clinton prepares for his second term.

In the weeks and months ahead Indonesia, Taiwan and South
Korea are likely to remain close to the center of the still-
expanding controversy. China, India and Japan are also likely to
be affected. It may not please Jakarta, but already the scandal
has been dubbed Indongate as a result of the central role of the
Indonesia Riady family, and their Lippo conglomerate, in the
affair. It is possible that Asiagate will eventually seem more
appropriate.

At first sight, the fact that on Dec. 6 the Democratic
National Committee (DNC) hurriedly returned the US$325,000
"donation" from California resident Yogesh K Gandhi should
minimize Indian involvement in the spreading stain.

On second sight, the fact that the DNC moved so quickly to
return the large sum to Gandhi is bound to raise even more
questions. So far, earlier suggestions that Indian businessmen
may have had an interest in using Gandhi as a front for buying
influence have not been substantiated.

Gandhi linked himself to the Indonesian angle when he said
that John Huang had handled his US$325,000 donation. John Huang
is the former Commerce Department deputy assistant secretary, and
longtime employee of the Riady family, whose wide-ranging role as
a Clinton fund-raiser, working for the DNC, has already raised
many eyebrows. "He has visited the White House more times than I
have, and I have served six Presidents," former Senate Majority
Leader Bob Dole noted when the large number of Huang visits to
Clinton's home was admitted, on the basis of Secret Service logs.

Along with the raised eyebrows have come several Freedom of
Information requests from U.S. newspapers which have already
served to punch holes in the Clinton Administration's line that
Huang was a low-level official solely concerned with
administrative matters.

One crucial controversy surrounding Huang arises because
someone in the Clinton Administration overrode what should have
been a normal FBI investigation of Huang's foreign background
when granting him a top-secret clearance. Whether this unusual
override had anything to do with James Riady's remarkable degree
of access to the White House and President Clinton remains to be
seen.

Clumsily, the White House started by minimizing Riady's access
to a few visits. Now it has been forced to admit the visits were
more frequent than earlier admitted. This is exactly the kind of
stonewalling absolutely guaranteed to both whet the appetite and
increase the numbers of journalistic and Congressional
investigators.

This override of normal FBI precautions has implications for
U.S. national security.

On the one hand, Huang was once employed at a Riady/Lippo
purchase in Hong Kong -- the Hong Kong Chinese Bank. One minority
shareholder in that bank is China Resources, a Beijing
corporation which is directly controlled by China's Ministry of
Foreign Trade and Economic Investment -- and ultimately
controlled by the Standing Committee of the politburo of the
Chinese Communist Party.

On the other hand, it is possible that Huang is still a
citizen of Taiwan as well as of the U.S.

A proper FBI investigation would have clarified whether
Huang's top-security clearance was likely to be used to the
advantage of either the People's Republic of China or the
Republic of China on Taiwan. Now information acquired by the Los
Angeles Times under the Freedom of Information Act makes it plain
that Huang was very interested in policy matters regarding China.
Additionally, articles in both the Washington Post and the Los
Angeles Times have reported that James Riady tried to influence
Clinton's views on China when visiting the White House.

Precisely how Yogesh K. Gandhi could have fitted in with
either Huang's fund-raising, Lippo influence-peddling, or Riady's
electoral support for Clinton is simply not clear. What is clear
is that Gandhi had a connection with a strange religious sect in
Japan with its headquarters on Mount Fuji, and with the
billionaire who funded right-wing causes within Japan..

If Jakarta Post readers who surf the Internet would like to
see this connection first hand, then they should go to:
http://www.tensei.com on the world wide web. Click the mouse on
World Mission and then you will see a Dr. Hogen Fukunaga hob-
nobbing with the Pope, with Mother Teresa, and with President
Bill Clinton.

It was Dr. Fukunaga who presented the President with the
Gandhi Peace Award at the Washington dinner which Gandhi paid
US$325,000 to attend. In the photo on the Tensei web-site, Yogesh
Gandhi can be faintly seen in between Clinton and Fukunaga.

The Peace prize also carried with it an award of US$100,000,
which Clinton declined, but, in a private room separate from the
dinner, he did accept the peace prize in the form of a bust of
Mahatma Gandhi.

According to numerous U.S. press reports Yogesh Gandhi is
broke, is behind in paying his taxes, and is no longer available
for interviews. The State of California attorney-general's office
is investigating whether his Peace Foundation deserves its status
as a charity.

The supposition is that Fukunaga's outwardly well-heeled
religious movement may have supplied the cash for the donation to
the DNC. If so, it could mean more problems for Gandhi since it
is illegal to conceal the real donor when making a political
contribution in the U.S.

The Tensei web-site tells us that Dr. Fukunaga was "reborn by
the voice from heaven" early on Jan. 6, 1980. Having attained
this "enlightenment", Fukunaga founded the Tensei Kaisetsu
movement or "Open Speeches of the Heavenly Voice".

One example of the Heavenly Voice is "See what you cannot see!
Listen to what you cannot hear! Seek the source of truth to be
true!"

Whether Gandhi thought that Fukunaga was espousing a Japanese
version of Hinduism or was likely to be a meal-ticket to a
prosperous future is not yet clear. A lengthy expose in the Los
Angeles Times on Nov. 2 revealed that the extremely wealthy
patron of extreme Japanese right-wing groups, the late Ryoichi
Sasakawa gave US$500,000 to Ghandi's foundation after Sasakawa
was awarded the Gandhi Peace prize in 1988. It was also Gandhi,
according to the Times, who arranged for Fukunaga's meetings with
the Pope and Mother Teresa.

All this is interesting but it pales into insignificance
compared to the basic question -- what was President Clinton
doing in such dubious company? Of course, all manners of people
can hope to raise their social status by seeking to hob-nob with
the U.S. President. But the U.S. President, having arrived at the
top of the tree, should have no need for such social climbing.

The answer, it would seem, is that President Clinton's smile,
handshake, and photo were all for sale in the cause of defeating
his financially better-off Republican challenger.

The President, not known for his interest in foreign policy,
apparently did not ask, and his staff did not know, what these
questionable characters were really doing in Clinton's presence.
All that mattered was the cheques, some of which have now been
hurriedly returned.

Next to the Clinton-Fukunaga picture on the Internet lie the
words "If we practice a life according to the law, we are given
joy by the law of nature".

Clinton was given great joy by the electorate last week but
now Republican-controlled Congressional investigations are liable
to make that happiness short-lived.