Prosecutors a threat
Each and every Taiwanese who is concerned about the malicious malfeasance of Taiwan’s special prosecutors, who have played the role of pawns, as well as tools for political revenge and persecution by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of its opposition, should be concerned by the case of former presidential adviser Wu Li-pei (吳澧培).
The situation is a grave crisis and a dangerous threat to the judicial system and democratic process. I urge Taiwan’s legal professionals to step up and lead a movement to rectify the situation, and in the process make the public aware of the serious judicial and other malfunctions of the government.
At the risk of being considered nepotic, I wish to say two things to authenticate the absolute integrity of Wu, who is my brother-in-law. In my whole career running small businesses, he was my equal partner. Time and time again he cautioned me against committing any deed that could convey an appearance of impropriety. Case in point: When we could have easily sold our last business and saved ourselves a lot of trouble by accepting a South Korean buyer’s offer to pay a big chunk of the price in what could only have been laundered cash, falsify the official selling price to a lower amount (which in turn would have lowered our capital gains tax), he said that it was against his principles and we could be criminally implicated, and promptly rejected the offer.
Also, with his wealth of experience running fairly sized banks, he never intruded into my businesses unless I asked for his advice and in such cases his business acumen was invariably stunning.
He is a man with a very high intelligence — legal or otherwise, with outstanding leadership qualities, exceptional competence and impeccable morality, so I know for sure he would not have done anything carrying the slightest hint of illegality or illegitimacy.
Yet, he was abused and tormented for so long for no reason or with no cause whatsoever. I am just glad that he has been blessed with extreme mental toughness and was able to carry himself through an ordeal that others would have succumbed to a long time ago.
Now his reputation has been tarnished even after his exoneration, but all he is asking is that all those special prosecutors responsible for injustices to himself and others be exposed and held accountable, in the hope that others do not have to suffer the same tragedy in the future.
Paul Ding
Redondo Beach, California
Speaking at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on May 13, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that democracies must remain united and that “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism.” Earlier that day, Tsai had met with a group of Danish parliamentarians led by Danish Parliament Speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, who has visited Taiwan many times, most recently in November last year, when she met with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office. Kjaersgaard had told Lai: “I can assure you that ... you can count on us. You can count on our support
Denmark has consistently defended Greenland in light of US President Donald Trump’s interests and has provided unwavering support to Ukraine during its war with Russia. Denmark can be proud of its clear support for peoples’ democratic right to determine their own future. However, this democratic ideal completely falls apart when it comes to Taiwan — and it raises important questions about Denmark’s commitment to supporting democracies. Taiwan lives under daily military threats from China, which seeks to take over Taiwan, by force if necessary — an annexation that only a very small minority in Taiwan supports. Denmark has given China a
Many local news media over the past week have reported on Internet personality Holger Chen’s (陳之漢) first visit to China between Tuesday last week and yesterday, as remarks he made during a live stream have sparked wide discussions and strong criticism across the Taiwan Strait. Chen, better known as Kuan Chang (館長), is a former gang member turned fitness celebrity and businessman. He is known for his live streams, which are full of foul-mouthed and hypermasculine commentary. He had previously spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and criticized Taiwanese who “enjoy the freedom in Taiwan, but want China’s money”
A high-school student surnamed Yang (楊) gained admissions to several prestigious medical schools recently. However, when Yang shared his “learning portfolio” on social media, he was caught exaggerating and even falsifying content, and his admissions were revoked. Now he has to take the “advanced subjects test” scheduled for next month. With his outstanding performance in the general scholastic ability test (GSAT), Yang successfully gained admissions to five prestigious medical schools. However, his university dreams have now been frustrated by the “flaws” in his learning portfolio. This is a wake-up call not only for students, but also teachers. Yang did make a big
RSS