Love him or hate him, it's hard to ignore Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (
But it was hard not to laugh at him on Saturday when Chiu accused the nation's prosecutors of being "tools of the government." Strange words indeed, coming from Chiu, as no one has benefited more from the prosecutors' willingness to investigate and follow up his nonstop allegations against the government than Chiu himself.
His allegations have been instrumental in getting former Presidential Office secretary-general Chen Che-nan (
Chiu should consider himself fortunate that he lives in the Taiwan of the 21st century, as just 22 years ago such accusations could have seen him suffer the same fate as Henry Liu (
So how Chiu has the effrontery to accuse prosecutors of bending to the government's will is beyond belief. If that were the case then he would probably be residing in prison right now as a result of the criminal damage he caused when he incited a riot and led a sound truck to repeatedly ram the gates of the Kaohsiung Prosecutors' Office following the 2004 presidential election.
Prosecutors indicted Chiu more than two years ago for his part in the damage, which was captured on film. This, combined with the fact he was serving a suspended sentence for violating the Public Officials' Election and Recall Law (
But Chiu and his patrons at TVBS -- he admitted the relationship in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post -- take advantage of Taiwan's highly partisan political atmosphere to make slanderous allegations safe in the knowledge that little, if any, action will be taken against them. Any cry of political persecution brings back painful memories for too many people in Taiwan and ensures that legislators from both sides get away scot-free when making the most outrageous allegations.
It is all very well to hold endless press conferences exposing government corruption if one has the evidence to support the allegations, but one cannot cry foul when upon investigation these allegations are found to be untrue, or as was discovered in one of the cases uncovered by Chiu, based merely on his suspicion.
Chiu is an educated man, so even he must be aware that if he continues to make serious allegations against people based on his suspicions, sooner or later he is going to be held accountable for them.
Slander may not be as serious a crime in Taiwan as in other countries but all people, no matter who they are, should have to answer for their words. Otherwise, who will compensate the prosecutors for all their wasted time and energy? It is no wonder that they have finally gotten round to indicting him.
The problem with Chiu is that his modus operandi seems to be if you throw enough mud, then eventually some of it will stick. But in most cases it doesn't. And while his role in exposing corruption must be commended, Chiu also has to realize that the more groundless accusations he makes, the less people will take notice of him.
Hasn't he heard the tale of the boy who cried wolf?
In the past month, two important developments are poised to equip Taiwan with expanded capabilities to play foreign policy offense in an age where Taiwan’s diplomatic space is seriously constricted by a hegemonic Beijing. Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) led a delegation of Taiwan and US companies to the Philippines to promote trilateral economic cooperation between the three countries. Additionally, in the past two weeks, Taiwan has placed chip export controls on South Africa in an escalating standoff over the placing of its diplomatic mission in Pretoria, causing the South Africans to pause and ask for consultations to resolve
An altercation involving a 73-year-old woman and a younger person broke out on a Taipei MRT train last week, with videos of the incident going viral online, sparking wide discussions about the controversial priority seats and social norms. In the video, the elderly woman, surnamed Tseng (曾), approached a passenger in a priority seat and demanded that she get up, and after she refused, she swung her bag, hitting her on the knees and calves several times. In return, the commuter asked a nearby passenger to hold her bag, stood up and kicked Tseng, causing her to fall backward and
In South Korea, the medical cosmetic industry is fiercely competitive and prices are low, attracting beauty enthusiasts from Taiwan. However, basic medical risks are often overlooked. While sharing a meal with friends recently, I heard one mention that his daughter would be going to South Korea for a cosmetic skincare procedure. I felt a twinge of unease at the time, but seeing as it was just a casual conversation among friends, I simply reminded him to prioritize safety. I never thought that, not long after, I would actually encounter a patient in my clinic with a similar situation. She had
A recent trio of opinion articles in this newspaper reflects the growing anxiety surrounding Washington’s reported request for Taiwan to shift up to 50 percent of its semiconductor production abroad — a process likely to take 10 years, even under the most serious and coordinated effort. Simon H. Tang (湯先鈍) issued a sharp warning (“US trade threatens silicon shield,” Oct. 4, page 8), calling the move a threat to Taiwan’s “silicon shield,” which he argues deters aggression by making Taiwan indispensable. On the same day, Hsiao Hsi-huei (蕭錫惠) (“Responding to US semiconductor policy shift,” Oct. 4, page 8) focused on
RSS