Wed, Apr 04, 2001 page8

• Editorial: Justice must be blind, not blinded

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  A fair and upright judiciary is the last line of defense for a modern democracy. Many of the strange social and legal ills facing Taiwan today are a legacy of the unfair and biased judiciary of yore. Taiwan's hopes of achieving a fully democratic society will not be met as long as political interference into the judiciary continues.

  One still remembers Lin Yang-kang's (林洋港) famous line shortly after he became president of the Judicial Yuan: "The Queen's chastity cannot be doubted." By this he meant to demonstrate his serious attitude toward safeguarding judicial fairness. Unfortunately, the government has in the past sacrificed or distorted the legal standards and moral values of Taiwan society for its own political gains. As a result, many major criminal cases remain clouded by disputes to this day.

  One does not need to look far for an example. In the Chung Hsing Bills Finance (興票案) scandal, one was puzzled by the prosecutor's repeated assertions that he could not find any criminal evidence. Perhaps he needs to tell us what principles he follows in his investigations and let us know what documents he has looked at -- for example, all the bank transaction records and cash flows. Without such explanations, his conclusions can never convince anyone.

  James Soong (宋楚瑜) said that his family did not own any real estate in the US, but then his son was found to own real estate near San Francisco. Soong's wife later said their son had bought the house with his own money. Why couldn't Soong come up with a clear explanation about this? According to his wife, their son had made enough money to buy a house when he was still taking his postgraduate studies at the University of California in Berkeley. That stretches the credulity of anyone from Taiwan who has studied at the university. How did he manage to finish his studies and make enough money to buy real estate at the same time?

  Then there were those allegations about fake seals. While he was KMT secretary-general, the seal Soong used in his office, as presented by the KMT, was different from the one he used to open certain accounts in his capacity as party secretary-general. Doesn't this discrepancy alone raise suspicions of forgery and embezzlement of party funds?

  Since the DPP government came to power, everyone has placed high hopes on Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南). He has consistently enjoyed high popularity ratings and has certainly dealt with quite a number of cases. But the investigation into the Chung Hsing case and its conclusions have been a major disappointment. As long as we allow judicial proceedings to be manipulated by officials in the judiciary who do not have a slightest concern for justice, the clouds over Taiwan's chaotic politics will remain. Without a good legal system, Taiwan's democracy can have no future.

  One cannot help but suspect that political interference may have had a hand in the crude handling of the Chung Hsing case. But how can a justice minister from the DPP, who has vowed not to relent in his fight against crime, allow such negligent officials to remain in the judiciary?

  We believe the DPP government should work to bring more clarity into the judiciary and punish prosecutors who have been derelict in their duties. Such punishment would not only serve as a warning to the incompetent, but also help boost the morale of those who are serious about their work. We also call on the prosecutors who have reopened the Chung Hsing case to be judicious, to safeguard the judiciary, so that the Queen's chastity may not be in doubt once again.
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