Sometimes President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his government handle things in ways that make one wonder whether to laugh or cry. The administration’s handling of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) request for medical parole has taken so many frustrating twists and turns that, in the end, no one will thank the government even if Chen is granted medical parole.
Chen, who has been imprisoned on corruption charges, is suffering from a range of medical conditions. Prior to the Nov. 29 elections, the government took a tough stance, but following the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) drubbing at the ballot box, it finally changed its tune: Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) said that the rejection of medical parole could be appealed or that a new request could be filed, and following two meetings, the 15 members of the Ministry of Justice’s medical evaluation team finally agreed that Chen should be released on medical parole.
But good things never come easy. After the medical team’s report had been organized by Taichung Prison, official documentation should have been submitted to the ministry’s Agency of Corrections. Although no one thought Chen would spend Christmas at home, that he would at least be home in time for New Year’s Day was not unreasonable. However, the ministry announced that Chen would not be released before New Year’s Day, because there was not enough time to review the documentation.
The reason given was that the car carrying the documentation from Taichung Prison was stuck in traffic and would not make it to the ministry during office hours, so the case could be reviewed only after the new year holidays. This clearly illustrates the government’s administrative inefficiency, bureaucratic stubbornness and inability to change.
If the documentation had been sent electronically, this farcical delay would never have occurred. Although the ministry insisted that there were many important attachments that could not be sent electronically, a review could have been initiated based on the electronically transmitted version and the final decision could have been made once the attachments arrived. Even though they were not transmitted electronically, the review team was well aware that the documents left Taichung Prison at 2pm, and that the trip to Taipei normally takes at least two hours. Even if delivery were delayed by a couple of hours due to traffic, there would still have been time to conclude the review if the ministry really wanted to let Chen spend the holiday at home, since it could have told the review team to wait a little longer.
Although this is a legal issue, everyone understands that it is highly political. If the government intends to use Chen’s request for medical parole to promote reconciliation with the opposition parties and promote social harmony, the constant interference created by “technical issues” that could have been solved easily leaves the impression that the government is procrastinating, unwilling to resolve the issue and handling the issue in a very awkward manner. Even if the government was trying to make a show of friendship toward Chen and his family, friends and supporters, that friendship will not be accepted.
Another victim of the twists and turns in the medical parole issue is former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), who is on a hunger strike in support of Chen’s release. Because of the government’s repeated delays, Lu has had to extend her hunger strike. She started her protest on Sunday, but due to the government’s procrastination it had to be extended until Wednesday. She has now been hospitalized due to health concerns. If her health deteriorates, that would also have to be blamed on the government.
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
RSS