When Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the US, wrote in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, he might very well have been prescient of the problems Taiwanese democracy is facing at the moment.
It all started when gadfly legislators from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) -- in their partisan haste to oust President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) -- opened up the Pandora's box of misappropriating discretionary funds, prevalent in various levels of the government.
But, when the public probing turned bipartisan by ensnaring, besides Chen, KMT Chairman and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
As another relic of the KMT era, these so-called special funds are originally designed to support the traditional Chinese imperialistic value of government officials being paternalistic. Over time, special funds became personal piggy banks for unscrupulous officials.
It should be noted that, although there might be controversy surrounding the justification for the existence of special funds, there is no doubt that the funds are intended for public purposes -- not for officials' pockets.
This distinction isn't lost on everybody either, as in fact there appears to be no shortage of chiefs or deputies who have either diligently followed the letter of the law or found their special funds inadequate to meet legitimate needs, let alone winding their way into individuals' coffers.
It then becomes a moot point whether or not the system is at fault.
Nonetheless, there are those who seek to reshape existing laws to shield the wrongdoings of the privileged few, a self-serving exercise when they themselves belong to that class. The outrage might be scarcely lessened by the knowledge that similar transgressions have been legally prosecuted in the past.
Besides, in a capitalist society, justice tends to serve those of means better than those without. Given the growing economic disparity in Taiwanese society, further institutional unfairness -- such as tailor-made laws that are being retroactively applied -- would only amplify the one-sidedness of special privilege and rub against the very grain of the democratic principle of equal protection of the laws.
Moreover, the notion that the spectacle of a herd of unsavory officials being dragged in front of the law would destabilize society reeks of elitism and is utterly absurd.
On the contrary, the practice of advocating elasticity of the laws to suit the need of one class of citizens, if left unchecked, could lead Taiwan into lawlessness and weaken its democracy.
Instead, public energy should be channeled into overturning a culture of special privilege and ushering in an era where people would pursue fairness and justice as the central values in Taiwan.
Rectified along the way should be KMT past infractions, including the problem of its ill-gotten assets, a satisfactory settlement of which would cleanse Taiwan of its nastiest problems -- including the cover-up of truth on the 228 Incident as well as the subsequent White Terror and the 18 percent interest on public pensions, the latter an open bribery contrived to foster an iron-clad voting block for the KMT.
It's unfortunate that past and present officials by the hundreds -- or thousands by some accounts -- could become entangled in this inadvertently-cast dragnet. It would be the biggest blessing in disguise for Taiwan, however, if a bloodless revolution through judicial processes were to materialize.
That's because reform would beget more reform until Taiwan is swept clean of the KMT culture that lingers like a perennial dead weight hindering the progress of the society.
Only then can Taiwan ascend to a level capable of withstanding the unrelenting onslaught of a belligerent China in the decades ahead.
Huang Jei-hsuan
California
A high-school student surnamed Yang (楊) gained admissions to several prestigious medical schools recently. However, when Yang shared his “learning portfolio” on social media, he was caught exaggerating and even falsifying content, and his admissions were revoked. Now he has to take the “advanced subjects test” scheduled for next month. With his outstanding performance in the general scholastic ability test (GSAT), Yang successfully gained admissions to five prestigious medical schools. However, his university dreams have now been frustrated by the “flaws” in his learning portfolio. This is a wake-up call not only for students, but also teachers. Yang did make a big
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) concludes his fourth visit to China since leaving office, Taiwan finds itself once again trapped in a familiar cycle of political theater. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has criticized Ma’s participation in the Straits Forum as “dancing with Beijing,” while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) defends it as an act of constitutional diplomacy. Both sides miss a crucial point: The real question is not whether Ma’s visit helps or hurts Taiwan — it is why Taiwan lacks a sophisticated, multi-track approach to one of the most complex geopolitical relationships in the world. The disagreement reduces Taiwan’s
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is visiting China, where he is addressed in a few ways, but never as a former president. On Sunday, he attended the Straits Forum in Xiamen, not as a former president of Taiwan, but as a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman. There, he met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Presumably, Wang at least would have been aware that Ma had once been president, and yet he did not mention that fact, referring to him only as “Mr Ma Ying-jeou.” Perhaps the apparent oversight was not intended to convey a lack of
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) last week announced that the KMT was launching “Operation Patriot” in response to an unprecedented massive campaign to recall 31 KMT legislators. However, his action has also raised questions and doubts: Are these so-called “patriots” pledging allegiance to the country or to the party? While all KMT-proposed campaigns to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have failed, and a growing number of local KMT chapter personnel have been indicted for allegedly forging petition signatures, media reports said that at least 26 recall motions against KMT legislators have passed the second signature threshold
RSS