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.
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations