Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians are drooling over the case in which senior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politician Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) is suspected of taking a bribe when he was Taoyuan mayor.
His tenure was from 2014 to 2022.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Cheng was released on bail twice last week, but was denied bail on Friday.
Immediately after Cheng was first granted bail, KMT Taoyuan City Councilor Ling Tao (凌濤) dug up that the father of the judge who granted the bail used to be one of Cheng’s political advisers.
Ling insulted the judge by suggesting that he granted bail based on his connection with Cheng.
DISTORTION
Later, KMT Taipei City Councilor Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧) over-interpreted a remark that President William Lai (賴清德) made on July 6 in response to a reporter’s question.
Yu interpreted his remark as meaning that “Lai is a ruthless person.”
She suggested that the case against Cheng involves political infighting within the DPP.
Yu said that Lai is worried that Cheng could threaten his chances of being re-elected in 2028.
Yu alleged that when Lai said that cracking down on corruption is an important task for the government, he was implying that Cheng is guilty of corruption.
SPECULATION
These two KMT politicians — Ling and Yu — are making things up as they go along. As well as maligning Taiwan’s judiciary, they have also insulted the president who was elected by Taiwanese.
These two politicians’ remarks show how political disruptions in Taiwan are being stirred up for ulterior motives.
FAIR JUDGEMENT
Cheng’s case is being investigated and no charges have been filed against him yet.
Even if he is charged, he would not necessarily be convicted and the judicial process should be respected.
Cheng should be given the right to fair treatment.
It is normal for judges to decide whether to grant bail based on consideration of the conditions, so it is wrong to use insinuations about “connections” to insist that a bail should not be granted.
As for Yu’s suggestion that Lai’s words were meant to “deliberately incriminate” Cheng, her purpose was to sully the president’s personality and undermine the public’s trust in the head of state.
“Cracking down on fraud, gangs and corruption are important tasks for the government,” Lai told the reporter.
As well as mentioning “cracking down on corruption,” Lai also said that prosecutors should investigate any kind of illegal activity.
Yu’s cherry-picking what Lai said out of context was an obvious attempt to stir up trouble for political gain.
It was a very sneaky move.
CASE ONGOING
It seems strange that the prosecutors have chosen this moment to broaden the investigation of a seven-year-old case.
When handling legal cases, a judgement should be based on the evidence.
It is not acceptable to speculate or take shortcuts.
To handle a case based on which way the wind is blowing is a major taboo in the judicial world.
The public are watching this case with open eyes, and they are unlikely to allow powerful people to play games.
Chen Chi-nung works in the field of culture and history.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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