A senior US State Department official on Tuesday praised Taiwan's handling of the multiple scandals afflicting the nation, calling it a sign of the strength of Taiwan's democracy.
"I think it's a good thing whenever a system is in place that allows for legal, peaceful processing of divisive issues," Thomas Christensen, the deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia specializing in Taiwan and China policy told reporters in Washington.
"This is a good sign for Taiwan's democracy, that they have a legal system that works through standard procedures, and that they have investigations and they have court proceedings, and that the political system remains stable," Christensen said in response to reporters' questions before he sat down at a US-Taiwan Business Council luncheon.
Reticent
The US government had previously refused to comment publicly on the corruption and other scandals that seem to erupt in Taiwan on a daily basis. The reason for US officials' reticence, Christensen said, was that "we have tremendous respect for Taiwan's system and the rule of law, and we expect that Taiwan authorities will deal with any potential problems they have on the legal front."
Conceding that corruption or allegations of corruption were not "in and of themselves a good thing," he added that "the real test of democracy, the real test of the rule of law, is when there are problems, and there are issues to be dealt with, they are dealt with in a smooth fashion that fits in with the Constitution and fits in with the legal practices in place."
Christensen's comments were the most specific yet made by a US government official on the series of corruption and financial scandals that have hit Taiwan in recent months.
Forthcoming
They went farther than the terse, formal comments that US State Department spokespersons have made at their regular daily briefings in response to reporters' questions over the past several weeks.
Christensen skirted a question about whether the scandals had soured government and public opinion about Taiwan, preferring to stress the positive aspect of the workings of the legal and political system.
His comments contrasted with the more negative aspects of reports that have appeared in major newspapers in recent weeks, which have highlighted the indictment of first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) and Prosecutor Eric Chen's (陳瑞仁) expressed opinion that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) could be subject to similar corruption charges if he were not protected by the immunity afforded by his office.
also see story:
No one at fault in probes, Su says
Investigators merge Weng, Ma cases
Analysis: Expense fund controversy just part of transitional justice, legal experts say
Editorial: Ma Ying-jeou just can't help himself
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS