KMT proposes ‘decriminalizing’ fund
　

TIMING: The KMT caucus secretary-general said that now that former president Chen has been found guilty, talk of decriminalizing special allowance funds could begin
　

By Flora Wang
STAFF REPORTER, WITH STAFF WRITER
Monday, Sep 14, 2009, Page 1

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday again proposed “decriminalizing” the use of the special allowance fund by government chiefs.

The KMT caucus first suggested an amendment to the Audit Law (審計法) in April 2007 that would decriminalize government chiefs’ personal use of special allowance funds.

The move at the time was seen as a bid to clear embezzlement allegations against then-former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who was indicted in February 2007 on charges of embezzling NT$11 million (US$338,000) from his special mayoral allowance during his eight years as Taipei mayor between December 1998 and July 2006.

Ma was found not guilty in the final verdict in April last year.

KMT caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) yesterday said that the last legislative session did not make any progress in “decriminalizing” government chiefs’ use of their special allowance funds because the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had insisted on also decriminalizing former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) use of his state affairs fund.

“Now that Chen has been found guilty in the first trial, we can now discuss [decriminalization] of [how the government chiefs use their] special allowance fund,” Lu said, referring to the verdict handed out by the Taipei District Court on Friday sentencing Chen and his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) to life in prison in the first trial of Chen’s state affairs fund case.

Lu told reporters that it was necessary for the legislature to pass the legislation given that some 200 government chiefs are still being investigated for how they spent their special affairs funds.

How government chiefs spend their special affairs fund — a monthly fund for public relations purposes — became the subject of a controversy after former DPP legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓) and others in 2006 accused Ma of misusing his special allowance fund during his tenure as Taipei mayor.

After Ma’s indictment, about 200 incumbent or former government chiefs from both the pan-blue and the pan-green camps, including then-vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃), were indicted by prosecutors for allegedly embezzling their special affairs funds.

DPP Policy Research Committee head Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the previous legislative session had reached a consensus to push through the legislation during the upcoming fall session, but the KMT caucus had insisted on dealing with the matter only after a ruling was handed down in the first trial of Chen’s case.

The proposed amendment to decriminalize government chiefs’ personal use of special allowance funds means delinking the issue from the president’s use of the state affairs fund, an idea that members of the DPP are divided on.

DPP caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said he would propose a motion during the party’s Central Standing Committee on Wednesday, suggesting that the president’s state affairs fund be included in the proposed amendment.

“In essence, the function of the state affairs fund is the same as that of the [government chiefs’] special allowance fund. The only difference is that they are being called by two different names,” he said. “It would be unfair and unreasonable if the state affairs fund is not included in the amendment.”

Prosecutors consider indicting Chen on more charges
　

By Shelley Huang
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Sep 14, 2009, Page 1

Prosecutors in charge of investigating former president Chen Shui-­bian’s (陳水扁) corruption cases said they were looking into other counts of money laundering and corruption, which could soon result in more indictments against the former president.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Special Investigation Panel (SIP), in charge of investigating Chen’s case, said they were still in the process of gathering evidence on cases involving the second financial reform and classified diplomatic projects. They were investigating whether more people may have been involved in helping the former president and his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) launder money, the office said.

Chen is suspected of accepting NT$200 million (US$6.1 million) in bribes related to Yuanta Financial Holding’s (元大金控) merger with Fuhwa Financial Holding Co (復華金控), the nation’s then 11th-largest financial group by assets in April 2007. He is also suspected of accepting another NT$340 million from former Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) vice chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒) in connection with Chinatrust’s failed takeover bid of Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控).

Prosecutors are still investigating other unnamed businesspeople, who are suspected of bribing the former first couple as a form of “protection” during the second financial reform.

While several co-defendants, including Chen’s son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) and daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), were convicted on Friday for helping Chen Shui-bian launder money to overseas bank accounts, others are still being probed for alleged money laundering activities. These include the former president’s family physician, Huang Fang-yen (黃芳彥), Yuanta Financial Holding Co president Victor Ma (馬維建) and Yuanta Financial Holding Co chief operating officer Michael Ma (馬維辰), all of whom are accused of helping Wu transfer illegal funds overseas.

Huang Fang-yen is suspected of helping the former first family ­launder money through the purchase of real estate at the Baolai Garden Plaza in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) for NT$60 million and hiding the former first lady’s jewelry and diamonds at his residence.

Prosecutors said they were still tracking NT$220 million.

After the scandal involving the former first family broke, Huang Fang-yen fled the country and is believed to be hiding in the US, where his family lives. He left for the US in November before prosecutors could question him about allegations that he helped Wu launder money.

In the classified diplomatic projects case, prosecutors have listed former deputy foreign minister Michael Kau (高英茂) as a defendant for allegedly helping former National Security Council secretary-general Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) embezzle funds in the guise of diplomatic projects.

Chiou left the Democratic Progressive Party in May last year and retired from politics to shoulder responsibility following a diplomatic scandal in which US$30 million in funds intended for the ­establishment of diplomatic relations with Papua New Guinea disappeared.

In related developments, the 1,500 pages from Friday’s ruling were delivered on Saturday to the former president at the Taipei Detention Center in Tucheng (土城), where he has been incarcerated since Dec. 30.

He has 10 days to file an appeal with the High Court, where judges may soon hold a detention hearing, as his current term of detention will expire on Sept. 25. He has denied the charges and lambasted the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for what he calls its political vendetta against him.

Meanwhile, police yesterday said they had stepped up security for the three judges who sentenced Chen Shui-bian to life in jail after one of them reported receiving a death threat.

TV footage showed two police officers, one carrying an automatic weapon, guarding the building in which Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) lives.

Group warns minister of education on ‘interference’
　

By Flora Wang
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Sep 14, 2009, Page 2

The National Teachers Association (NTA) yesterday said it had high expectations of new Minister of Education Wu Ching-chi (吳清基) and urged him to resist “inappropriate interference.”

The association said that local government chiefs have been abusing their authority by interfering in educational affairs.

“For example, some local administrative chiefs opposed a decree by the central government and required that junior high and elementary schools adopt the same textbook version for each subject. They also used their own high school entrance examinations [rather than those designed by the ministry],” the association said in a press release.

Over the past five years as ­director-general of the city’s Department of Education, Wu has promoted a policy of standardized textbooks.

The decision, however, was counter to the Ministry of Education’s policy that invites schools to choose their own textbooks to encourage diversity. The city government’s move has been controversial and caused friction between the central and local governments.

“The NTA expects Minister Wu to insist on the policy of the Ministry of Education and help Taiwan’s education get back on the right track,” the association said.

Wu said on Thursday he would not promote Taipei’s standardized textbooks policy nationwide, adding that schools at the national level would be allowed to choose their own textbooks as long as the books follow ministry guidelines.

The association called on the minister to pay attention to the quality of higher education, adding that the ministry should review its budget and ask for more resources for the next fiscal year.

Meanwhile, Wang Chun-chuan (王俊權), director-general of the ministry’s Department of Physical Education, said the ministry intended to amend a law to grant educational stipends to athletes who perform well in international sports events hosted by the country.

At present, the ministry provides subsidies of between NT$25,000 and NT$55,000 per person to Taiwanese athletes who excel at the Olympic Games or Asia Games.
　

Chen trial was a test of democracy, analysts say

AFP, TAIPEI
Monday, Sep 14, 2009, Page 3

The trial of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was a test of Taiwan’s young democracy — and the country received just average marks, observers say.

The Taipei District Court on Friday found 58-year-old Chen — in detention since December — guilty of embezzling state funds, laundering money, accepting bribes and committing forgery.

DOUBTS REMAIN

Questions remain over whether his life sentence was a sign of a healthy legal system or reflected serious problems with the independence of the judiciary.

“One may see a banana republic,” said Murray Rubinstein, a history professor at Baruch College who has written or edited several books on Taiwan’s history and politics. “But I remain an optimist and see it all as a painful learning curve — and this trial is just the latest step in this process.”

Chen’s sentencing marked the climax of the most controversial trial in Taiwan’s history.

The judiciary did what it was designed to in the Chen case, but could have done much better, Judicial Reform Foundation director Lin Feng-cheng (林峰正) said.

“The case shows that nobody is above the law and that even a former president can be tried under Taiwan’s judicial system, which is progress for the rule of law,” Lin said. “However, there were many problems during the investigation and trial, especially regarding Chen’s detention.”

REVENGE?

While Chen himself has called the trial against him and his wife an act of revenge carried out by political opponents for a life devoted to independence from China, some analysts have difficulties discerning an outright vendetta.

“The investigation was launched and prosecution of his wife was started while Chen was president,” said Jerome Cohen, a law professor at New York University. “He would have been indicted while president if the law had not barred prosecution of a sitting president.”

But Cohen argued that the way the court handled the case was open to criticism, citing a “disturbing” mid-trial switch of a judge.

LETTER TO MA

In a letter to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) early this year, nearly 30 international academics warned that “the erosion of the judicial system” could jeopardize Chen’s right to a fair trial.

“Taiwan’s judicial system must be not only above suspicion but even above the appearance of suspicion, of partiality and political bias,” the letter said.

A prisoner serving a life sentence has the opportunity of being granted parole after spending 15 years in jail.

Chen’s next trial will be a chance for the legal system to make up for its shortcomings so far, observers say.

“One hopes the second-instance trial ... will redo the case in a way that will lead people to believe that evil has been punished in a fair and proper way,” Cohen said.

DETENTION

Legal experts have called for Chen’s release from detention so he can prepare his defense in a more unhindered manner than has been the case so far.

“The High Court should give Chen a fair chance to defend himself when he appeals the ruling, but this will be very difficult if he is still in custody,” Lin said.

The Democratic Progressive Party on Saturday said it hoped there would be no repeat of the “many flaws and disputes that violated due process during the first trial.”
　

Ethnocentrism can backfire
　

Monday, Sep 14, 2009, Page 8

Recent ethnic riots in Xinjiang and Tibet are a direct consequence of a Han-centric mentality and jingoistic patriotism, which no doubt adds fuel to the fire. As Samuel Johnson once said: “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” I am not necessarily condemning patriotism — waving flags and shouting slogans to boost adrenaline levels in demonstrations or on the battlefield. Nor do I condone such irrational behavior as suicide bombers or kamikaze-like tactics.

However, we must ask ourselves why China has had problems with its neighbors, whether it is Tibet, Xinjiang, Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, Mongolia or Russia. Furthermore, Chinese living or traveling abroad are quite rowdy and disrespectful of local cultures in public places. I saw enough of them in the US. Though the virtue of hardworking Chinese cannot be denied in Southeast Asia, some of their unfair business practices have led to resentment toward them.

Of course it is also unfair to lay blame on the Chinese only, but a better assimilation would have been more constructive for both Chinese and locals.

To maintain stability, the Chinese must treat their neighbors as equals and respect their cultures even if they view some of them as antiquated and impractical. Minorities should not be viewed as hicks from the backwaters or barbarians; they should be treated with dignity. It seems a better solution to the conundrum in Xinjiang and Tibet is entirely plausible: Offer large-scale preferential treatment to the disadvantaged locals; tolerate and coexist with different cultures and religions.

No amount of ammunition, tanks and Han-superiority mentality can pacify the troubled regions in the long haul. Diversity, not adversity, is the key.

YANG CHIN-WEI
Chiayi

Don’t fear the Dalai Lama
　

Monday, Sep 14, 2009, Page 8

Unfortunately, we had Typhoon Morakot. Fortunately, we then had a visit by the Dalai Lama. Morakot and the Dalai Lama are two forces that have come together so dramatically this year.

While we feel very sorry for the 700 or so victims of Morakot, the Dalai Lama stands not only for spiritual consolation, but also for freedom and democracy. Yes, the Dalai Lama came to boost freedom and democracy in Taiwan while Ma’s administration only cares about the economic ties with China.

Who is afraid of the Dalai Lama if one loves freedom and democracy? The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has transformed the whole of China into one large prison. Of course, the Dalai Lama is hated by the CCP. While the CCP hopes the Dalai Lama will be silenced forever, we Taiwanese would love for him to visit again.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is afraid of the Dalai Lama because it sides with the CCP. This time people power won out and the Dalai Lama was able to visit.

The impact and influence of the Dalai Lama will continue because his presence in Taiwan inspires the Taiwanese and people in many other countries.

What Taiwan needs is not only weapons against any military threat but also the spiritual power to be fearless and to abide by dreams of freedom and democracy. This is the essential meaning of the Dalai Lama’s visit. He had the heart to come; we should have the courage to welcome and thank him.

NI KUO-JUNG
Hsinchu

NIA cannot afford an ethics lapse
　

By Sandy Yeh 葉毓蘭
Monday, Sep 14, 2009, Page 8

‘Power must be kept in check. Foreign laborers are in a much more precarious situation than local residents. This often invites corruption.’

In its 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, the US government said Taiwan still has quite a long way to go in preventing human trafficking, prosecuting human traffickers and protecting victims of human trafficking. Just as the government and civic organizations were working hard together to uphold Taiwan’s reputation, a scandal erupted involving the National Immigration Agency’s (NIA) Taichung City Specialized Operation Brigade chief abusing his powers to act in an obscene manner and sexually assault detained female foreign laborers. This single incident could negate years of hard work and requires the government to act quickly.

In Taiwan, foreign laborers are seen as guest workers making up for temporary labor shortages and their working conditions are the worst of any in the country. Their rights and individual freedoms are greatly restricted by employers and legal regulations. Their situation is much tougher than in Hong Kong or Singapore.

The placement fees they have to pay are higher than in other Asian countries and the conditions for switching employers are also stricter than in Hong Kong or Singapore. They cannot live away from their employers and they have very limited time off work. They are also faced with the constant threat of repatriation for no reason by their employers.

All these issues mean that the human rights of foreign laborers are at a very low level and such problems are the reason why increasing numbers of foreign workers run away from their jobs.

Although the Ministry of Justice has established principles for identifying discrimination toward foreign laborers, these principles are not applied by law enforcement and prosecutors when arresting runaway workers, who are simply treated as criminals.

A closer look at the main reasons why foreign laborers run away, however, shows that they do so for the same reason as forced laborers around the world. Many of those who break the law or violate regulations are in fact victims of forced labor. Corrupt immigration, police, judicial and labor affairs officials are accomplices to these crimes.

International reviews of the implementation of regulations to prevent human trafficking in different countries look into implementation efficiency, the severity of sentences for human traffickers and how corrupt civil servants facilitating human trafficking to make a profit are dealt with.

In 2007, the US government’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices said: “Taiwan generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there continued to be problems reported in the following areas: corruption by officials, violence and discrimination against women, trafficking in persons and abuses of foreign workers.”

At that time, just before their duties were handed over to the newly established immigration agency, unscrupulous foreign affairs police made use of sloppy administrative practices to collude with human trafficking syndicates by forging re-entry permits or staging false arrests to extort large sums of money from foreign laborers, thereby controlling, mistreating and exploiting them. These actions damaged Taiwan’s international image.

In the more than two years since the immigration agency was established, it has been surrounded by controversy, some say because the police officers transferred to the agency are incompetent.

I, however, believe this is not an adequate excuse. Systemic improvements are necessary. The main reason for these problems could be that the internal review mechanism was not well established when the agency was created.

Before the agency was established, every arrest of a foreign laborer was reviewed afterward. The senior reviewer could check records and other related information to determine whether a police officer had broken the law. The reviewer sometimes directly interviewed the foreign laborer in an attempt to eradicated irregularities.

Power must be kept in check. Foreign laborers are in a much more precarious situation than local residents. This often invites corruption.

In the past, police had systems in place for supervising police ethics to prevention and control misconduct, but from time to time, we still heard of them breaching discipline and breaking the law.

With the establishment of the immigration agency, the insufficiency of its resources calls for serious attention to whether or not the internal system for ethics supervision can prevent irregularities from occurring, but we can only hope that the sexual abuse scandal involving the Taichung officer will be the last ever case of its kind.

Sandy Yeh is a board member of the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation.

The Cabinet faces four key policy questions
　

By Taiwan Thinktank 台灣智庫
Monday, Sep 14, 2009, Page 8

After former premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) announced his Cabinet would resign last week, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) immediately appointed Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) secretary-general Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) to replace him and Taoyuan County commissioner Eric Chu (朱立倫) as vice premier. Liu’s decision to take political responsibility for the government’s poor relief work in the wake of Typhoon Morakot is praiseworthy. However, four issues pertaining to the appointment process of the new premier and his major tasks need to be discussed.

The first issue is the controversy over the violation of constitutional convention. Article 55 of the Constitution states that the premier shall be appointed by the president. Other Cabinet members should be appointed by the premier in accordance with the constitutional spirit of the Executive Yuan’s organizational design. Although former premiers always discussed the make-up of their Cabinet with the president, the right to name new members was still in their hands.

This time, however, the Presidential Office announced both the premier and vice premier, showing that the president appointed them both. Is this an attempt to restrain the premier? We don’t know. But whether it violated the spirit of the Constitution and political tradition must be thoroughly discussed. Otherwise, such an arbitrary act could be the start of the presidential destruction of the constitutional system.

The next issue is that several major budget plans were all proposed by Liu’s Cabinet, including the central government’s budget for the next fiscal year, the NT$120 billion (US$3.6 billion) for the Post-Typhoon Morakot Reconstruction Special Act (莫拉克颱風災後重建特別條例) and the budget for the expansion of domestic demand. These budget plans are both expensive and controversial. In particular, the money for the reconstruction act will be raised through public borrowing, which will add a heavy burden to the treasury. Government debt already stands at 33.82 percent of GNP, a figure close to the legal ceiling of 40 percent.

If the debt continues to grow like this, the nation’s sovereignty rating could be at risk. The budgets so rashly proposed by the former Cabinet should be returned to the new Cabinet for reconsideration so that limited resources can be distributed effectively.

The third issue is the question of whether the new Cabinet can carry out reform. The approval ratings for the previous Cabinet were quite low prior. Apart from the poor public image of several Cabinet members, this proves that many government policies need to be adjusted. The flooding and global financial crisis showed that the policies and performance of Liu’s Cabinet were dissatisfactory. The former caused great losses to human life and assets, while the latter caused the country to fall behind the rest of the region. Certain policies, such as the push for an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, are rough and lack public support. As the year-end elections approach, the new Cabinet should not be a “campaign Cabinet.”

In light of the problems of the KMT’s rule in the past year, issues such as its pro-China stance, ignorance of public opinion, surging unemployment, the economic downturn, the widening income gap, post-typhoon reconstruction and even national land restoration, should all be reviewed and effective reform policies proposed.

Finally, Liu’s Cabinet resigned because of its poor relief work, which may have cost the lives of hundreds of people and caused huge economic losses. In the face of the A(H1N1) flu epidemic, we hope Wu’s Cabinet can learn from its predecessor’s errors. Every loophole must be closed so that no more lives are lost.

Taiwan Thinktank is an independent, nonprofit public policy research organization.