Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) undemocratic disposition was evident throughout his presidency and was one of the catalysts for various mass civic movements during his eight years in office.
As such, many were surprised to learn that Soochow University — a school known for its liberal environment — has asked Ma to teach a course in advanced law starting in September.
Universities are free to choose whom they hire, and former government officials, with their extensive administrative experience, would ideally make good teachers who can share their real-life experience with students. However, many have expressed doubt considering Ma’s poor track record in observing law and order and respecting human rights.
Soochow University has long prided itself as an institution of learning, but how can it live up to its reputation when the person it is recruiting to lecture on the value of law and democratic enlightenment has committed a slew of human rights abuses and disregarded the law?
The school authority might have forgotten, but the public still remembers how democracy regressed under Ma.
Many recall the Ma government’s suppression of protesters when Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) visited Taiwan in November 2008, with police using excessive force against demonstrators and even breaking into hotel rooms without a warrant. Government repression was what led to the birth of the civic movement that later became known as the Wild Strawberries student movement.
Many also remember it was the lack of transparency and procedural democracy under Ma’s leadership, with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers attempting to force passage of a controversial cross-strait trade bill that sparked the Sunflower protests. The government’s bloody action to evict unarmed student protesters from the Executive Yuan compound on March 24, 2014, left an indelible imprint in the public’s mind.
There are other cases, such as police obstructing protesters’ freedom of movement and expression during China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun’s (張志軍) visit two years ago, or destroying private property, such as the infamous Dapu incident, with the Ma government ignoring victims’ pleas.
Ma is also mired in numerous legal cases: He is accused of instigating former prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) to leak information, which led to Huang’s conviction last year; and of favoring the Farglory Group in the scandal-dogged Taipei Dome project during his term as Taipei mayor — to name just a few.
With this kind of track record, what merits Ma a position to teach law?
Still, there might be a silver lining amid all this absurdity: Rather than taking in Ma’s politically biased lectures sitting down, students might have a chance to inspire Ma instead.
After all, it was Ma’s poor governance that led to young people’s bleak outlook about their future and finally compelled many to speak out and act on the values they believe in.
The Wild Strawberry and Sunflower movements awakened a sense of civil consciousness among the young, who have demonstrated a deep understanding about the nation’s democratization and their commitment to upholding democratic values and social justice.
Young people, who had been accused of being apathetic toward politics and social issues, are now paying more attention to these issues, including cross-strait affairs, and not just quietly complying with anything the authorities tell them to do.
Perhaps the public will be treated to more interesting interaction in class between Ma and young people, who might yet challenge him to think and reflect on the true meaning of the law and democracy.
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