Mon, Jun 19, 2006 page8

• Don't undermine our democracy

  • By Hawang Shiow-duan 黃秀端
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  President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) son-in-law Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘) has been detained on suspicion of insider trading. In a normal democracy, the public would expect the judiciary to fulfill its responsibility to investigate, the media to report in an unbiased manner and political parties to take necessary political action based on the results of the investigation.

  What is happening, however, is that the government is treading water, the pan-blue camp is launching frenzied attacks, the TAIEX is in a free fall, the pro-localization groups stand united in support of Chen and ethnic tension is brewing.

  Faced with this crisis, Taiwan is in desperate need of a third voice to restore public trust and consolidate democracy so that it will not fall victim to irresponsible political infighting and media sensationalism.

  Therefore, the Taipei Society is urging politicians to stop using claims that they represent public opinion as an excuse for engaging in populism, thus destroying our democratic system.

  Since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power, it has emulated the money politics of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) by leaning toward big business, which has led to a complicated relationship between the government and business circles. Some government officials have also broken the law by engaging in corruption and through dereliction of duty, which has led to the disintegration of public trust.

  In 2002, the Taipei Society criticized the Chen administration for favoring big business, but the government was not willing to listen. Over the past six years, the DPP has been busy with the consolidation, expansion and distribution of power while ignoring criticism from the public, which led to a crushing defeats for the party.

  Some law enforcement officials have no respect for ethics and are willing to become "deep throats" to those who specialize in exposing scandals. Law enforcement officials violating the principle of closed investigations have been seen in the Chao case -- and may be even more obvious in the case involving train derailment suspect Lee Tai-an (李泰安).

  In view of this, we demand that police and prosecutors strictly abide by the "closed investigation" principle. We also call on politicians and the media not to misinteprete this principle or mislead the public as to its significance. By no means must they think of themselves as judges who decide who can be released on bail and who is guilty.

  The opposition parties' overriding goal over the past six years has been to regain power. They lack democratic ideals, their performance in the legislature has been lethargic and they only engage in political infighting. People do not feel that the opposition sincerely cares for the development of the nation. This is damaging to the nation's democratic development.

  A democratic society cannot be built on two diametrically opposed ideologies. I hope that the KMT and the People First Party will fulfill their duties as the opposition and build an image as benevolent political parties able to tell right from wrong that jointly seek to deepen the nation's democracy.

  The media look only for political motives and not the truth, and with their rumor-mongering and defiant reporting they get involved in the political struggle, causing a great deal of confusion among the public. Worse than that, some media outlets are taking advantage of the political upheaval to fabricate news instead of reporting the truth, trampling on the privacy of citizens and violating human rights.

  Here is a list of the Taipei Society's appeals:

  First, the judiciary is the last line of defense for justice. It should not care whether or not the first family is involved in Chao's case, but only focus on making a thorough investigation without accepting restrictions dictated by politicians.

  Second, government decisions and information should be made transparent to build public trust. Under the table dealings are often a cause of corruption.

  Third, all political parties should consider the future of the nation, and understand that our democracy has been hard-won. They should avoid provoking confrontation, restore public trust and consolidate democracy.

  Fourth, police, prosecutors and the media should act professionally and comply with professional ethics.

  Fifth, the public should understand that it is a mistake to entrust the future of the nation to political parties and politicians. They should not hesitate to express their concerns and stop being manipulated by politicians.

  The Taipei Society urges government and opposition to bring the political infighting to an end and wait patiently for the results of the investigation lest Taiwan's democracy be ruined overnight.

  Hawang Shiow-duan is the chair of the Taipei Society and professor in the department of political science at Soochow University.

  Translated by Daniel Cheng
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