While most political attention in Taiwan has been focused recently on the Yunlin County by-election, independent presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) has been spreading about some extremely serious accusations of interference with his campaign. This is worth closer examination, because activity in both campaign arenas is serving to illustrate some of the basic unfinished business of Taiwan's democratization.
Apparently, Soong's Taipei "workshop" was burgled, and a certain quantity of campaign data, among other items, was stolen. Soong has since made public accusations of a conspiracy against his campaign, including the use of wiretapping. Some people, noting that Soong himself once directed campaigns of persecution against journalists -- including the use of wiretaps, among other tactics -- and was formerly responsible for coordinating less-than-wholesome election campaigns waged by the KMT, have reacted smugly, saying that he is only being given some of his own medicine.
But this newspaper cannot be so sanguine. If such claims have a ring of truth then Soong, like every other political candidate, will be judged by voters at the polls. But nothing in a candidate's past record can excuse vengeful, and equally illegal, counter-abuses.
It is still too early to tell exactly what transpired in Soong's Taipei "workshop" on Sunday, but almost all of the possible explanatory scenarios involve dangerous distortions of our constitutional and political process. Although it may turn out to have been an ordinary crime, the sensitive nature of the site and the timing of the act demand a heightened degree of scrutiny. It is therefore vital that law enforcement authorities treat this case with special attention. The voters deserve a thorough and professional investigation that produces a credible explanation in a timely fashion.
But, while Soong has every right to be angry, and to demand such a investigation, he should refrain from prejudging the result. It is not constructive to demand, for example, that rival Vice President Lien Chan (3s戰) "promise" that he had nothing to do with the case. Since Lien can hardly do otherwise than protest his innocence, the public can gain no useful insight.
While Soong's case is the most potentially explosive to hit national politics recently, it unfortunately merely reflects the corrupt and criminal practices that continue to plague local elections in many parts of Taiwan, of which the Yunlin County race is providing a showcase.
Besides the corrosive tradition of vote-buying, even more sinister election tactics, up to and including direct physical intimidation by armed thugs, are well-documented. Unethical political methods are also frequent, such as the use of the so-called "black letter" (黑函), where an anonymous or intentionally misattributed statement is circulated to mislead voters or spread rumors.
The solutions to these practices are not difficult to identify -- it is only necessary to replicate the successful experience of Taipei and other more urbanized areas, where vote-buying has virtually disappeared. One basic ingredient is increasing vigilance on the part of law enforcement agencies. Cases such as the Soong break-in must be investigated and prosecuted with zeal.
In the final analysis, responsibility resides with the electorate, who hold the ultimate sanction of withholding their votes from candidates who participate in such activities. It is ordinary Taiwanese citizens who must act to stamp out both politicized criminality and criminalized politics.
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