Liberty Times (LT): What are your views on the High Administrative Court’s ruling?
Wellington Koo (顧立雄): I do not know how I feel about this ruling, because there had been almost no successful instances of a hold issued for cases that were filed by civilians. Take for example the Dapu Case, the torn down house, the destruction to the surrounding environment, and these were all considered by judges as replaceable: “What does it matter if it is torn down? We can compensate you with money.” In contrast with the KMT case, it seems that judges’ standards have suddenly become more lax.
The court did not give any reasons for its ruling and what “irreparable losses” would the KMT suffer? We feel the court has not taken into account previous cases filed by civilians and whether the standards that apply to this case were applied in previous rulings. Committee members felt depressed after comparing previous rulings by the High Administrative Court with the latest ruling. We have to ask: Does the court have a uniform standard when looking into cases?
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
However, we must commend the court for how it handled the case, as it has separated the judicial actions into confirmed action and action pending implementation.
The confirmed actions include that prior to the resolution of the KMT’s rights to equity as judged by the court, the KMT could not take any action regarding the shares it held. This has affirmed the committee’s decision that the equity was a part of ill-gotten party assets.
I do not know to what extent judges consider the value of transitional justice. In the face of KMT opposition, some might fear the deep-rooted influence of the party; in some cases, the issue might even be complicated by cross-strait issues.
Some people recently asked me: “What is the purpose of politics?”
US law professor Cass Sunstein has said that democracy is a form of government in which politicians conform to the preferences of the majority, while politicians in a republican government are obliged to provide a chance for the preferences of the minority to become the majority, adding that the US democracy would benefit from the latter.
Regarding to the concept of transitional justice in Taiwan, I have, over the past few months, arrived at the same conclusion.
Any and all legislation regarding transitional justice were unable to pass the Legislative Yuan after 2000, or before. For example, former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) administration was unable to pass a proposed bill in the KMT-majority Legislative Yuan to allow compensation for victims of the 228 Incident and the White Terror era.
While amendments to Article 9 of the National Security Act (國家安全法) have been proposed to restore the rights of the victims, the act as it stands still blocks people seeking to lodge unjust judgement suits against the former government under the White Terror era.
This effort has continued to the present day and in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-majority Legislative Yuan, we have seen the passage of the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例) and other steps toward the implementation of transitional justice. However, there are many who are unable to realize the importance of those actions, leading to constant questioning of why we are still doing them.
Returning to Sunstein, ideal politics must create a certain atmosphere that is then made into the value that we support and seek to make such a value be supported by the majority of the people.
As we look into the issue of the party assets, as well as the eventual publication of KMT-held files, redress of the judicial injustices and so on, they will rouse doubts over why we must uncover the past. However, we must believe that there is meaning in examining the unjust acts of the past, as it would lead to holding accountable the groups who had participated in such acts.
Therefore, I look forward to present the judges with the argument how the value of democracy, and by extension the fairness of competition of political parties, will heavily affect Taiwan’s future. Through such discussion, we hope to let the people understand this value.
Through transitional justice, we come to understand the dignity of people and the consensus to make it impossible for Taiwanese to experience the oppression of such dignities ever again.
Germany has undergone the same process, reflecting on the errors and the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime after 1949, and again after the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Particularly after the unification of the two Germanys, they were willing to put on trial those they considered guilty of crimes, even though such a procedure was not accepted by many and although it challenged the system.
During that phase, there were those who also considered the circumstances that put the Nazi party in power through legal means and whether it was possible for the East German model to be replicated by others after the unification.
People must not only talk about making amends, but must understand what sort of “justice” the law brings to the public through court procedures. Should a value that is believed and defended by the public emerge — especially one regarding the dignity of people? I believe that it is possible for Taiwan to never revert back to authoritarianism. This is the greatest difference that sets us apart from China and might become a great weapon with which we can truly protect Taiwan.
I believe in such values. I will appear in court, in person, throughout the judicial procedures and conduct meaningful dialogue with the judges. We must let the public ascertain that transitional justice is a road we must walk through to ensure the implementation of the future of Taiwan.
LT: How will this ruling affect the committee’s subsequent work?
Koo: Many might feel that the ruling is a setback for me. However, I think we have achieved our goal given the duration of the entire procedure.
A broad outline of what I think the committee has achieved: From our understanding of the KMT’s party-run businesses, they are without question a fundamental basis of the KMT’s finances; now that we have managed to stop them temporarily, it is considered a success.
It would be great if we can nationalize these assets, but if the court wishes to wait until the conclusion of court proceedings, then we can afford to wait.
We can also be sure of one point and it seems that the court’s ruling on Dec. 16 is in agreement with our assessment: The KMT and its finances are like an addict with their preferred drug, and the committee is helping the KMT rehabilitate itself forcibly by depriving it from accessing the equity returns of NT$1 billion [US$31 million] per year.
The committee will be slowly moving through individual cases, as it has a small staff.
We are looking into the issues of Broadcasting Corp of China (BCC) and Central Pictures Corp (CPC), and plan to move through four foundations — the Minsheng Development Foundation (民生建設基金會), the Minchuan Foundation (民權基金會), the Mintsu Foundation (民族基金會) and the National Development Fund (國家發展基金會) — in January.
As for the Japanese property that the KMT took over after the war, the committee is in the process of making estimates on how much the properties are worth, as well as looking into which has been transferred to others or have been expropriated by the nation.
My only job is to set a schedule for each case and implement the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations.
As for BCC, it is a very interesting case: The company is nominally run by its president, Jaw Shaw-kang (趙少康), but Jaw said on Dec. 16 that he will not oppose the nationalization of the buildings where the company offices are located.
“Chaotic” would be the word to sum up the situation with CPC, and the committee must try to ascertain several key points as to why the sale of the company proved so problematic. In essence, the committee is faced with the challenge of how to restore to the state the resources that were taken from it, as per the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations.
As for the four foundations, the KMT will no doubt say the legal persons are independent organizations, but there are tracks and clues that point back to the KMT.
The pertinent question from a legal viewpoint is how to process what is already donated; this is an inevitable question, because these are not the only foundations that are connected with the KMT. How we deal with the four foundations will establish a template to handle other foundations.
However, there are limits to transitional justice and that is the bona fide purchaser clause under the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations, which offers a certain degree of guarantees.
Central Investment (中央投資公司), Hsinyutai Co (欣裕台股份有限公司) and the National Women’s League of the Republic of China all have some properties that were purchased by bona fide purchasers, and we foresee the same problem with the foundations.
The China Youth Corps and the National Women’s League will prove even more complicated, as they have other businesses, such as hospitals and schools, under their extensive investments.
We are a new committee empowered with a new law; everything is a new trial that must ultimately be judged by the judiciary. We must be tohrough with regard to law as we proceed, but proceed we must.
Every legal case will be scrutinized by not only legal academics, but also the public. Through the various lawsuits, the public will gradually see debates on how transitional justice should be implemented, and how such implementation should be pursued.
LT: You seem very confident.
Koo: My confidence stems from my unwavering faith in democratic values. I believe I will ultimately succeed in persuading the public to understand the value of transitional justice.
Translated by Staff Writer Jake Chung
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