Nearly one month into the investigation of a corruption scandal surrounding former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世), the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office has managed to sway even the most optimistic, who, having misplaced their trust in the nation’s judiciary, are now starting to doubt the impartiality of the investigation apparatus.
For the many skeptics, disappointment understates a sense of anger that brews within as they see how the SID has, with its glaring double standards and snail’s pace investigation, seemingly proved to the public again that it is not color blind when it comes to cases involving politicians.
In December last year, amid the brouhaha over allegations of irregularities involving then-Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) role in a biotechnology company, State Prosecutor-General Huang Shyh-ming (黃世銘) asserted: “There’s not one case that the SID dares not investigate.” Revisiting Huang’s statement now, as the public takes note of the SID’s dawdling in the case implicating high-ranking officials from the pan-blue camp, many cannot help but wonder whether Huang’s remarks were really only meant for cases involving pan-green politicians.
Many have their reasons to doubt that the probe into the Lin case, which has been dragged out for weeks now, is thorough. A number of key individuals, such as Lin’s father, Lin Hsien-pao (林仙保) — whose voice was heard in the recording of a conversation between Lin Yi-shih and Ti Yung Co owner Chen Chi-hsiang (陳啟祥), apparently negotiating a 2010 bribe to secure a metal recycling contract from state-controlled China Steel Corp (CSC) — and CSC chairman Tsou Juo-chi (鄒若齊) — whose return to the company in 2010 after he retired in 2002 broke not only the company’s unwritten rules, but also raised eyebrows given the coincidence of the timing — remain unquestioned.
Any investigation should not be rushed and vigilance is key, but by the slow pace at which the SID is moving in the Lin case, it is almost like saying to all related parties: “Hey, guys, better get your accounts in order before you are summoned for questioning.”
Meanwhile, like a bad soap opera, over the past weeks the public has been treated to almost daily episodes in which Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) denies rumors implicating him and his sister-in-law Hau Ying-chiao (郝英嬌) in the alleged corruption.
In a recent survey conducted by the Taiwan Thinktank, 64.4 percent of respondents questioned Wu’s claim of innocence, while only 15.4 percent said they believed him.
No one likes to be wronged for something they did not do and if the vice president is innocent, as he claims he is, then rather than passively responding to daily media inquiries following the latest allegation against him or his relatives, Wu should consider holding a press conference and, once and for all, set the record straight. Better yet, Wu should take the initiative and report to the SID himself and let the judiciary do its job and prove him innocent — if indeed he has been wrongly accused.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), meanwhile, should not be sniggering in the corner grateful that someone else is taking the heat for a change. As a responsible leader, he should also take the initiative and offer a clear account on the allegations concerning his deputy.
After all, how is he expected to lead the nation when his right-hand man is embroiled daily in corruption allegations?
The muting of the line “I’m from Taiwan” (我台灣來欸), sung in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), during a performance at the closing ceremony of the World Masters Games in New Taipei City on May 31 has sparked a public outcry. The lyric from the well-known song All Eyes on Me (世界都看見) — originally written and performed by Taiwanese hip-hop group Nine One One (玖壹壹) — was muted twice, while the subtitles on the screen showed an alternate line, “we come here together” (阮作伙來欸), which was not sung. The song, performed at the ceremony by a cheerleading group, was the theme
Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised eyebrows recently when he declared the era of American unipolarity over. He described America’s unrivaled dominance of the international system as an anomaly that was created by the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. Now, he observed, the United States was returning to a more multipolar world where there are great powers in different parts of the planet. He pointed to China and Russia, as well as “rogue states like Iran and North Korea” as examples of countries the United States must contend with. This all begs the question:
Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Tuesday last week apologized over allegations that the former director of the city’s Civil Affairs Department had illegally accessed citizens’ data to assist the KMT in its campaign to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councilors. Given the public discontent with opposition lawmakers’ disruptive behavior in the legislature, passage of unconstitutional legislation and slashing of the central government’s budget, civic groups have launched a massive campaign to recall KMT lawmakers. The KMT has tried to fight back by initiating campaigns to recall DPP lawmakers, but the petition documents they
Liberals have wasted no time in pointing to Karol Nawrocki’s lack of qualifications for his new job as president of Poland. He has never previously held political office. He won by the narrowest of margins, with 50.9 percent of the vote. However, Nawrocki possesses the one qualification that many national populists value above all other: a taste for physical strength laced with violence. Nawrocki is a former boxer who still likes to go a few rounds. He is also such an enthusiastic soccer supporter that he reportedly got the logos of his two favorite teams — Chelsea and Lechia Gdansk —
RSS