Taiwan's former President Chen Shui-bian will serve more time in jail for corruption, the island's high court ruled on Friday, in the latest twist in a saga that is taking on a new significance as the island heads towards presidential elections, according to Reuters. Chen was Taiwan's president from 2000 to 2008 and a vocal advocate of the island's independence, infuriating China which sees the island as a renegade province it must recover, by force if necessary. His latter years in office were dogged by allegations of corruption and embezzlement and his wife was charged in 2006. Chen himself was not charged until his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost the 2008 presidential election and he stepped down, losing his immunity from prosecution. Chen has always claimed the charges were politically motivated because of his strong anti-China stance. Chen is already serving 17 years and six months for charges including embezzlement of state funds, bribery, perjury and money laundering while in office. His wife was also jailed but remains in prison hospital due to poor health. In a ruling handed down on Friday, Chen was given an extra two years on separate money laundering charges while an extra 20-year sentence for using fraudulent receipts to obtain money from a state fund was cut to 10 months. One charge of improper use of money from a special state fund was quashed. Chen can further appeal the latest rulings, which come ahead of presidential elections in January that are widely seen as a referendum on the future of the island's relations with China. A resurgent DPP has rebuilt and shifted to a more moderate centre ground since Chen's era, and now poses a strong challenge to the ruling Nationalist party, whose President Ma Ying-jeou has signed a series of landmark trade and economic deals with China. Earlier this year Chen's predecessor as president, Lee Teng-hui, also an advocate of independence and head of a party affiliated to the DPP, was indicted on embezzlement charges . He has denied them. The move prompted criticism the government was using the legal system to turn voters against the DPP, an accusation the government strongly denied.
