Taiwan is soon to establish its first national human rights commission, the first stage in the transformation of the Control Yuan. President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) nomination of former Presidential Office secretary-general Chen Chu (陳菊) as president of the Control Yuan and chairwoman of the human rights commission has been controversial.
The commission would be able to initiate investigations into national laws and government policies that possibly violate human rights, unlike the essentially passive power of the Control Yuan to impeach, and its establishment would allow for the transformation over time of the Control Yuan to a branch of government focused entirely on the protection of human rights.
This is a major breakthrough for human rights and the rule of law in Taiwan, and it is important that people remain focused on the system itself, rather than baselessly attacking Chen or trying to besmirch her name. Not only is this not conducive to the progress of Taiwan’s politics and culture, it does serious damage to Taiwan’s democracy, and could tear the nation and society apart.
The Democratic Progressive Party has long called for the abolition of the Control Yuan and the Examination Yuan, and, when in opposition, intentionally held up the approval of the nominees of the two branches in an extraordinary legislative session, hoping to bring about their abolition.
Abolishing branches of government is a mammoth task, and requires constitutional amendments: The transformation stage is a necessary one.
Abolishing the Examination Yuan and the Control Yuan is not the same thing as abolishing the power to validate civil servants’ qualifications and make appointments, or to initiate investigations, and after the two branches are abolished, the question is: Who will carry out the tasks of overseeing the appointments of officials or censuring and auditing their performances?
How are these reforms to be carried out? It will take time to decide how they are to be transferred to the legislative and executive branches, and the process will need to be carefully and meticulously planned.
If the governing and opposition parties have the intention and resolve to see through the abolition of the Examination Yuan and the Control Yuan, they will need to rationally debate the timetable and accompanying measures to ensure everything proceeds as it should.
Chen has for the past five decades devoted herself to furthering human rights, and previously spent six years in jail as a dissident because of her efforts. She has never been convicted in court, has never been impeached and the Control Yuan is not investigating any cases related to the Kaohsiung City Government from her time as mayor there.
When 29-year-old Chen was sent to prison for her involvement in the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident and discovered that she faced a possible death sentence from the military court, she wrote: “I hope that those suffering, the bound and the oppressed find liberation, and for the people of Taiwan, the home that I love deeply, to be able to enjoy as soon as possible a life marked by real fairness, equality, freedom and democracy. I have been subjected to humiliation and mistreatment, and yet I feel neither malice nor fear in my heart, and trust that history will be a fair and just judge of events.”
Chen has forged ahead, despite the challenges that she has faced throughout her life, working for the good of Taiwanese.
With her leading the way in this next stage of the nation’s development, fighting for human rights, the nation will be in good hands.
The more one is in the public eye, the more people will try to pull one down.
Her contribution to Taiwan cannot be allowed to be attacked, demonized or misrepresented. Chen, a daughter of Taiwan who has fought so hard for the nation’s democracy, should be given the treatment she deserves.
Cheng Ying-yao is president of National Sun Yat-sen University.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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