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Editorial: Will campaign lies be corrected?

A host of social problems arose before and after last month's presidential election. The greatest disappointment was the behavior of politicians and the media. With their usual sloppiness and irresponsible behavior, they kept repeating statements that have since been proven to be completely wrong. This destroyed the public's fundamental trust, and as a result people now show less friendship for each other. This further reinforces public distrust of politicians' statements and media reports. This damage to social relationships is a far more serious problem than the ethnic issue that everyone is talking about.

Taiwan enjoys freedom of expression, but that does not mean that legislators, party officials and media organizations have a legal right to cheat the public. In recent months, however, we have seen politicians and some media organizations collude to support one side in the election. Party officials and even wanted criminals have issued completely groundless information, which in turn has been given coverage by media organizations. The most frightening developments in this vicious election were probably the open letters published by Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪), who is wanted by the police in connection with economic crimes, and his series of radio and TV interviews.

If all of these accusations were true, why did the attacks against the green camp end with the campaign? Looking back, the incident seems to have been planned by certain political forces as a political tool with which to attack President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). There was no proof of any irregularities. A more serious issue is why the media kept reprinting these allegations made in overseas media.

These reporters didn't verify the allegations or question their credibility as professionalism demands. These media cannot say today that they also were victims of the Chen Yu-hao incident. They were blinded by their political opinions and decided to dance to his magic flute, and abandoned professionalism to help this scoundrel achieve his goal.

During the conflicts following the election, although a recount has yet to carried out, opposition leaders have flippantly lashed out at the president, accusing him of vote-rigging and cheating the nation. If the recount results verify the blue camp's defeat, how are these critics going to face the public they divided with their misleading propaganda?

The inquiries into the shooting of the president and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) serve as a good example. On the eve of forensic specialist Henry Lee's (李昌鈺) arrival, People First Party (PFP)Legislator Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) held a press conference where a veiled lady stated that the bullet was fired from Lu's purse. Therefore, they concluded, the shooting was staged. The next day Lee's investigation team immediately ruled out this possibility, but Chou still has not apologized. Instead, we still see him flay others in the legislature as if his harsh charge against Chen Shui-bian and Lu had never been made.

Without evidence, politicians and media must not repeatedly spread suspicion. Moreover, media organizations should not only disseminate information; they also should enable their audiences to evaluate the accuracy of the information they provide. Taiwan's lawmakers, party leaders and media are all responsible for doing their duties in a moral, legal and professional manner. If they weren't, they would destroy democracy.
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