Control Yuan Member Huang Chin-jenn (
Huang, a former high court prosecutor general, released this week the report of his investigation into a controversial remark made in the Legislative Yuan last year by Chen Shih-meng (
At that time, Chen said that he didn't think that it was necessary to be loyal to the country's flag -- the flag of the Republic of China (ROC) in order to be loyal to the country. The two were not the same, he said.
Those comments enraged KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (
Chen raised the opposition's ire during an interpellation session last November, Hung demanded that Chen explain a comment that had been made by Alice King (
Hung questioned King's loyalty and condemned Chen's public defense of her statements.
Chen had said that a flag symbolizes a country in the same way that a president represents a country, but that it was not necessary to say that the two were the same. Therefore, negative comments about the flag were not the same as negative comments about the country.
Hung interpreted Chen's remarks as being disrespectful to the country and later filed the petition to have Control Yuan investigate Chen.
In his petition, Hung denounced the secretary general's comments as "shameless" and charged that Chen was not qualified to be a top presidential aide in the country that Hung referred to as the ROC.
"The former secretary general to the Presidential Office's claim that the national flag cannot represent the country was absurd and his remarks caused a public uproar. We understand his statement to be a flagrant infringement and a failing in his responsibility to the Constitution," stated Hung, in a petition that was also signed by PFP legislators Shen Chih-hui (
In his report, Huang said that Chen should face a review over his actions, including his failure to answer lawmakers' questions.
"The reckless statement obviously disobeyed his duty as a presidential secretary general and was improper," Huang argued.
"The behavior conflicted with the Civil Servant Service Law and therefore a deep introspection is needed by the former secretary general, even though he has left his government post," Huang wrote.
But the Control Yuan ruling met with disagreement, not only from those involved but also from some observers.
Chin Heng-wei (
"`Introspection' is neither a legal term nor a term of an administrative ruling. I don't see any Control Law provision that entitles a Control Yuan member to make such a judgment," he added.
Professor Chen Mao-hsiung (
The Control Law stipulates that a member can impeach or reprove administrative officials, but introspection is unheard of, Chen Mao-hsiung said.
He charged that "introspection," without legitimate injunction or administrative power, made Huang's conclusion meaningless.
The case showed clearly that the Control Yuan members had been involved in a political battle, said Chen Mao-hsiung, who pointed out that opposition figures publicly criticize the president every day but somehow feel they can forbid others to have different opinions about the national flag.
In short, the need for Control Yuan members to win the approval of the opposition politicians in the legislature meant that they had failed to arbitrate right and wrong because they were afraid of displeasing those politicians, Chen Mao-hsiung said.
As for Chen Shih-meng, the man at the center of the controversy, he was rather confused by the requested introspection.
"The Control Yuan member could either impeach me if my statement was so mistaken or, on the other hand, he could correct me. But a demand for introspection really confuses me," Chen Shih-meng said.
He argued that, if his comments about the flag were disloyal and unpatriotic, opposition leaders should be investigated by the Control Yuan for their daily criticisms of the president.
"If one needs to examine himself over commenting on the flag, so do those who frequently comment about the country's leader," Chen Shih-meng said.
DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) argued that the Control Yuan should never have taken the legislators request to probe this curious case.
"The presidential aide made no violation that would affect his performance as secretary general. It is debatable that the Control Yuan initiated the investigation just because of the verbal conflict occurred at Legislative Yuan," Chen Chi-mai said.
But the beleaguered Control Yuan member stressed that his handling of Chen's case was based upon the duty of his position, not political considerations.
Huang also said that if someone made derogatory remarks about the president that were perceived as being disloyal and unpatriotic, he would be just as willing to investigate that alleged offender -- as long as someone made the request.
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