Chief Prosecutor Yang Ta-chih (
Yang's attacks put Minister of Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (
Yang's outburst could be seen as nothing more than another flare-up in the long-running turf war between prosecutors and the police. Yang noted that it is the job of prosecutors to head investigations into vote-buying and while the police are to follow instructions and cooperate. However, his sense of dissatisfaction also stems from the way local prosecutors feel that the large number of non-locals, specifically officials and prosecutors from the central government, are encroaching on them. Only last Friday, during a meeting convened by Yu and Chen, Yang said, "We Hualien prosecutors already know how to do our jobs. We do not need our superiors to show us how to accomplish our mission."
Given that the Hualien election is probably the last chance to drill police and prosecutors in how to carry out a crackdown on vote-buying before the next presidential election, it seems petty to act in such a resentful manner.
But as far as interpreting the Constitution, Yang is right -- and so are Chen and Yu. Basically the controversy centers around Yu's declaration that 24-hour road stops and vehicle checks would be conducted during the campaign. The Council of Grand Justices has ruled that road stops and vehicle checks cannot be completely random and groundless. There must be a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, such as drunk driving or, in Hualien's case, vote buying, before vehicles can be stopped and checked.
At issue is what Yu meant when he said "24-hour road stops and checks." If Yu meant all vehicles were to be stopped and checked indiscriminately or randomly, then that might be unconstitutional. But if police are stationed along roads to monitor all passing vehicles and then stop those which appeared suspicious, then it would not be unconstitutional. However, this raises the question of how "suspicious" is being defined. It is quite possible that not all police officers' will "stop and check" only when there is well-grounded suspicion. Whether reasonable suspicion exists varies with each individual case; it is not fair to say the roadside stops and checks are unconstitutional, period.
It is good that Yang highlighted the importance of balancing citizens' constitutionally protected rights and the need to crackdown on vote-buying. What is unforgivable is the way the pan-blue camp and unificationist media seized this opportunity to try and incite resentment in Hualien -- and elsewhere -- about the crackdown. They argue that Hualien residents have been inconvenienced and subject to disrespect and distrust. But then the pan-blue camp has never been comfortable with anti-corruption efforts.
Many people feel that minor inconveniences are a small price to pay for a clean election and genuine democracy. No one doubts that only a small minority of people are involved in vote-buying. Official say the crackdown effort targets these people. But everyone should be asking why Hualien residents are being made to feel that they live in a police state in order to prove that the nation's democracy is alive and well.
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