Handshaking snub adds to animosity at the MOJ

Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan's (陳定南) refusal to shake hands with the head of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) yesterday added more fuel to the conflict that continues to burn between the two.

At an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan yesterday, Chen declined to respond to lawmakers' requests to shake hands with Wang Kuang-ru (王光宇), head of the MJIB. Chen said he had shaken hands with Wang before the questioning began and added that the request was too politically sensitive.

KMT legislator Liu Shen-liang (劉盛良) was the first to question Chen yesterday.

He asked Chen to confirm whether he had said that some people from the Investigation Bureau had "intimidated" him.

"I did say that someone from the MJIB had `sent a message' to me," Chen said. But, I never used the word "intimidate."

Chen declined to name who had sent the message to him.

Wang, responding to Liu, said that he did not know about any message sent to Chen.

"But, I am willing to talk to Minister Chen in private and if it's true, I will investigate the matter," Wang said.

Liu pressed further, asking Chen and Wang to shake hands to show harmony. The two both smiled with embarrassment and Wang tentatively put his hand out to Chen, but the latter avoided eye contact with Wang and did not reciprocate.

The scene surprised all, but Chen explained his action to Liu: "To shake hands here is not unusual, but it would be unusual to do so by request of a legislator. It would be politicized," Chen said.

The fight between Chen and Wang began on Monday morning when Chen, in a radio interview, agreed with the hostess that he felt "powerless" in working with the MJIB and said that the MJIB "dealt with cases selectively."

The issue behind the dispute is the identity and function of the MJIB. The MJIB is involved in both intelligence gathering and criminal investigations. Its intelligence functions are overseen by both the National Security Bureau, which is under the National Security Council, and thePresidential Office, while the Ministry of Justice oversees its criminal investigations.

Wang acknowledged that he has "two bosses" but has said that the current method of operation is not a problem.

Chen hopes that the MJIB will return its intelligence work to the the National Security Bureau.

Meanwhile, as the open conflict between Chen and Wang continues, prosecutors from Hsinchu, Tainan, and Chiayi District prosecutors' offices have signed statements to express their support for Chen. The statements say that in criminal investigations the MJIB must comply with the directives of prosecutors and that the leadership of the MJIB does not have the discretion to decide which cases to investigate.

"Our action is not about a power struggle," a Tainan prosecutor said. "The MJIB's current centralized system allows its leadership to interfere in investigations and this is wrong."

According to the regulations, agents of the MJIB have to obtain approval from their headquarters before investigating a case.