Justice off balance
Defendants in an adulterated cooking oil case that shook the nation last year, including former Ting Hsin International Group executive Wei Ying-chun (魏應充), were found not guilty in the first trial (“Wei Ying-chun found not guilty,” Nov. 28, page 1). This news is as shocking as the case itself. I believe that about 90 percent of the public do not agree with this verdict.
The outcome of this case was more or less expected, because Wei has been President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “match” and has strongly supported him.
“The law will turn when it meets Ma,” as many Taiwanese say.
The courts are like chickens: afraid of the rich and powerful, but lay “no eggs, only droppings” for consumers.
The courts are notorious for being operated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
A recent case, the largest of its kind, involving the replacement of Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) with KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) as the party’s presidential candidate, was dismissed by a court, despite verbal and written evidence of illegally asking a candidate to withdraw their candidacy.
Ma has several arrangements in the judicial system so that he can “safely step down” from the presidency on May 20 next year. He appointed several Supreme Court justices who can back him up, and reshuffled the Control Yuan as a shield for his personal protection. He might be a “bumbler” in administration, but he is a genius in self-protection.
Many Taiwanese think that justice in Taiwan is injustice. It is even worse than in underdeveloped nations. I believe that about 70 percent of Taiwanese distrust decisions made by the courts.
The next administration should completely overhaul the judicial organization so that justice is impartial — without any discrimination against political affiliation, ethnicity, sex, age or income. A jury system should be adopted to mitigate the bias of many judges.
Charles Hong
Columbus, Ohio
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