Prior to the onslaught of Typhoon Morakot, one name in the Cabinet stood above all others as a ripe candidate for removal in any reshuffle: Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰).
Wang, who has presided over and contributed to a punishing loss of confidence in the impartiality of the nation’s judicial system, survived this week’s reshuffle after lying low for some months. Her case was helped by not having a major role to play in the government’s diabolical response to the typhoon.
Any doubts about the justice minister keeping her position, however, would have been removed given the timing of the verdict in the trial of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), members of their family and several other accused.
No president would dare sacrifice a justice minister on the eve of such an important ruling, not even one as dismal as Wang.
Some might argue that Wang has done her job exactly as the ruling party hoped: defending the government to the hilt despite unconscionable lapses in the ministry’s professionalism and pitiful progress on judicial reform, while failing to defend judges and defense counsel demonized in the press and by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, including some on the legislative committee that deals with judicial affairs.
For this minister, the presumption of innocence is a slogan to be parroted at meetings with foreign visitors, not a principle to be defended in the local media or among her fellow travelers in the KMT. She remains the perfect foil as the Chen saga continues.
It came as no surprise that Chen was found guilty given that he was found guilty in the court of public opinion many months ago, though the severity of his and his wife’s sentences may have surprised even some of Chen’s enemies. The safety of the judgment is yet to be established, and the lengthy verdict will take some time to analyze, but this much is clear: The trial was filled with irregularities and scenes of breathless farce to the extent that the wily Chen has gained considerable ammunition for what will likely be an interminable appeals process.
The political consequences following a life verdict cannot be underestimated. Chen’s enemies in the KMT will celebrate tonight, comfortable in the knowledge that the man most responsible in the last decade for furthering the agenda of an independent, democratic Taiwan has been taken out over the alleged theft of baubles — by KMT standards.
The truth is that Chen — if he indeed is corrupt, if he indeed committed forgery or was an accessory to such conduct, if he indeed “embezzled” campaign funds — cannot begin to compare with the legions of KMT officials, central government officials, regional and local officials, company directors, entrepreneurs and many other categories of the rich and powerful who have committed acts of fraud and violence against ordinary Taiwanese for decades and have never been brought to account — nor ever will.
The Chen verdict brings this risible saga to the next stage. Chen’s alienation of his supporters may soon bottom out as the government’s ineptitude and compulsive China policy allow the Democratic Progressive Party to place renewed pressure on the government to pursue reforms that get the politicians and politics out of the court room and increase transparency across the system.
If that were to happen, Chen’s proclivity for Christian imagery may prove apt. For all of the people he has let down, guilty or otherwise, his conviction could be the crucible that brings this mediocre, cynical government to book.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
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