Former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) mentor at Harvard Law School, Jerome Cohen, has labeled Ma's indictment on embezzlement charges "stunning" and "surprising."
Cohen said Ma should try to prove his innocence if he feels he was wronged.
If Ma is cleared of the charges, Cohen said there is no doubt that the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman could run for the presidency.
During an interview with CNA, Cohen, who is now a law professor at New York University, described Ma as honest and upright. He said he felt sympathetic and sad -- just the way he felt when another of his Taiwanese students -- Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) -- was jailed for her political activities in the 1980s.
Ma and Lu both studied with at Cohen at Harvard Law School. Lu received a masters in law in 1978, while Ma received his doctorate in law in 1981.
Returning from the US in 1978, Lu joined in the pro-democracy movement. A 20-minute speech at a rally held to commemorate Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, 1979 in Kaohsiung led to her arrest and conviction for sedition.
Sentenced to 12 years, Lu was granted a medical parole because of thyroid cancer after five years and four months.
"People should give Taiwan's judicial system a chance," said Cohen, who has long paid attention to Taiwan's democratic development as well as human rights and judicial practices in China.
He said Ma's indictment was a whole new case and that the judicial system had faced greater pressure given the increasing level of inter-party confrontation.
The case could be an "interesting" challenge for Taiwan in its efforts to develop democratic politics, he said.
Meanwhile, in Taipei, President Chen Shui-bian (
It was the first time the president had commented on his former rival's indictment.
Chen made the remark during the question-and-answer session at a year-end luncheon with Presidential Office press corps at the Taipei Guest House.
Chen said he had originally hesitated to make any comment but decided he would continue to reflect and exercise caution.
Lu was also at the luncheon and said she was not surprised by Ma's announcement that he would enter the presidential race.
She said she respected his decision, but the public would be the final judge.
At a separate event yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (
Should Ma win, there would be two scenarios, he said, both of which would create a "storm" in domestic politics.
If Ma won the election, but was convicted and sentenced before his inauguration, a second election would have to be held because without the constitutional immunity to prosecution that comes with the presidency, Ma could go to jail, Wang said.
If Ma's trial was still going on at the time of his inauguration, he would enter office as a president suspected of corruption, the DPP lawmaker said.
"Either way, the nation would not be able to stand it," Wang said, urging Ma to postpone his presidential bid to 2012.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS