A President's Last Stand? A corruption scandal slams Taiwan's Chen Shui-bian.

Byline: Jonathan Adams

Annette Lu, Taiwan's vice president, was on a windswept island in the Taiwan Strait when the call came. Back in Taipei, prosecutors were about to indict President Chen Shui-bian's wife for allegedly misusing state funds in a case that implicates the president himself. Lu skipped lunch and rushed back to the capital to help manage the crisis--and, if called upon, assume the presidency.

Chen was scheduled to defend him-self publicly last weekend against charges that he, his wife and key aides had misappropriated some $450,000 from a discretionary state fund; the indictment claims the money was used to buy everything from a diamond ring for the First Lady to baby clothes for Chen's grandkids. Chen's defense had been that the money was spent on secret diplomacy and could not be accounted for due to national-security concerns. But prosecutors say they've found scant evidence of such use. Already embattled, Chen now faces renewed street protests and another opposition-led recall vote in the legislature. If he steps down or is ousted before his term expires in 2008, Lu is in line to take over.

Putting Lu in charge, however, might only spark wider political tensions. Lu is seen as even more staunchly pro-independence and just as unpredictable as Chen. While a President Lu would be sharply constrained by the opposition-controlled legislature, her ascent would likely rattle nerves in Beijing and Washington, which already have their hands full with ...