Dec. 6,2000 --- To: Trent Lott, Denny Hastert

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Dear　Mr. Trent Lott,
　　　Mr. Denny Hastert,

While the world’s eyes are focused on the deficiencies of the U.S. electoral system, bigger constitutional problems are confronting a few of Asia’s fledgling democracies. Impeachment proceedings now loom over elected leaders in Taiwan, Indonesia and, of course, the Philippines, even though all three men have several years remaining in their terms of office.

It is somewhat tempting to view these as examples of Asians following America’s lead. In the U.S., political partisanship tried to convert personal behavior into a “high crime,” and Congress wound up with an ultimately unsuccessful impeachment trial against Bill Clinton. But there is more to what’s happening than simply copycat behavior. Each of the Asian political crises involves uncertainty over the proper distribution of power between the president and the legislature. In each instance, there are signs that those who lost power in the previous election are trying to use extraordinary means to return to office. It’s a recipe for continuing political instability.

The situation in the Philippines is especially worrisome, since the political system had seemed stable, delivering two smooth transfers of power after the departure of former strongman Ferdinand Marcos. The allegation that current President Joseph Estrada received a cut from illegal gambling operations appears serious. But could it be a pretext for the anti-Estrada forces to unseat him? As Filipino columnist Joel Rocamora wrote before the scandal broke: “Exposes of corruption form a vital part of our system of political competition … but nothing systematic is ever done about corruption because the ‘outs’ do not wish to poison the well for the time they manage to become the ‘ins.’”

No one went to jail for the pillage committed during the Marcos era. Indeed, several major beneficiaries of the corrupt dealings that took place then are now in the legislature presuming to judge Estrada. Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ran for the vice presidential slot in 1998 alongside presidential candidate Jose de Venecia, a Marcos crony who mastered the politics of pork.

Estrada is being accused by an opportunistic regional boss who typifiers the worst class of Filipino politician.

Adding to the charges against the President is a chorus of criticism from sectional forces that want him out: the Makati business community believes (rightly) that his administration is incompetent: the church, which under Jaime Cardinal Sin has always lusted for political influence, resents Estrada's overt contempt for its views on sex and gambling; the left is disillusioned by the emptiness of the President's pro-poor rhetoric; Arroyo, backed in part by opposition figures from the Fidel Ramos era, simply wants power.

Whatever the facts in the case, the political elite know perfectly well that large sums of cash routinely change hands. Much of the money derives from fringe businesses like gambling that oil the wheels of the political system and will help determine the outcome now. Filipinos may have made a poor choice in 1998 --- though it its now forgotten how mediocre the alternatives to Estrada were --- but the essence of democracy is to accept the result for the allotted term, not to try to reverse it by using one arm of the system to destroy the other.

The same applies in Taiwan, where President Chen Shui-bian is accused of nothing more serious than canceling a unclear-power project (though he handled the affair poorly). Taiwan’s fledgling democratic constitution attempts to balance the legislative and executive branches. But it cannot work if a legislature dominated by the opposition seeks to make the presidency untenable, by pretending the directly elected leader has acted unconstitutionally and must be removed. The Kuomintang, which had been in power for so long, now seems reluctant to accept the electoral consequences of the national split.

Indonesia’s situation is slightly different. For one thing, the President is elected indirectly --- by the MPR, the largely elected people's consultative assembly. The MPR thus also has the right to remove him, but it is surely the constitution’s intent that the President fulfill a five-year term. Effective governing is impossible if the President, who constitutionally is meant to have strong executive powers, is subjected to constant impeachment threats by an MPR that consists mainly of legislators.

Whatever President Abdurrahman Wahid’s failings, the push to unseat him on flimsy grounds mainly serves the interests of those who want to lay the groundwork for a return to Suharto-style autocracy.

It may be that Asian democracies with strong, elected presidencies would do better to shift to parliamentary systems like those found in the monarchies of Thailand, Japan and Malaysia, or in Western countries such as Germany, where the President is a ceremonial figurehead. Incompetent prime ministers can more easily be removed. But this is a separate question, and not one to address at a time of constitutional crisis.

The alleged affair between President Chen Shui-bian and his aide took on political overtones yesterday as Vice President Annette Lu, reportedly the source of the rumor, vowed to set up a legal team to prove her innocence.

“I will sue the accusers to the end,” Lu told reporters, referring to The Journalist, a Chinese-language weekly.

The magazine claimed in its newest edition, released Thursday, that the outspoken vice president insinuated information about the scandal to a heavyweight reporter during a telephone conversation earlier this month.

Lu flatly denied the accusation charged the opposition camp with cooking up the story in a bid to create mistrust between her and Chen.

Asserting her loyalty to Chen, Lu said she would take the magazine to court.

The Journalist also called, a news conference the same evening, maintaining that the material at issue had been handled with professionalism.

Whatever its virtues, the stunning revelation disrupted Lu’s schedule for yesterday afternoon. Aides said she was weighing legal measures against the widely-read publication.

The Presidential Office issued a stern rebuke yesterday to an opposition legislator’s claims that President Chen Shui-bian received a US$5 million donation from Beijing during his presidential election campaign.

People First Party (PFP) Legislator Chin Huei-chu claimed to possess official documents from Beijing that prove Chen is a “traitor to the nation.”

Calling accusations as “fabricated and fictional,” presidential officials said they will decide how to react after examining the documents.

The lawmaker claimed to hold the originals of nine letters Chen exchanged with mainland Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and a receipt of the US$5 million donation, all carrying Chen’s signature and personal seals.

She alleged that the money was exchanged through a secret channel involving Jiang’s son Jiang Mianheng and the “Hung-jen Group,” whose chairman Wang Wen-yang --- son of Formosa Plastics tycoon Wang Yung-ching --- had acted as Chen’s envoy.

The business group said it will file a lawsuit against Chin for defamation. Chin said she will bear full legal responsibility for her accusations and added that she is prepared to forego her immunity as a lawmaker.

DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen scoffed at Chin’s claims, calling them “nonsensical.”

Painting Chen as Jiang’s puppet, Chin claimed that Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh’s election-clinching support for Chen and Tang Fei’s appointment as premier were all engineered by Beijing.

She also said the papers in her possession documented a request by Chen asking the PRC to step up criticism of him prior to the election to secure pro-independence voters.

Chen’s foggy rhetoric on the “one China” issue since winning the election angered Beijing, she said, prompting authorities there to sabotage Taiwan’s stock market.

To make amends, Chen has pledged to recognize the “one China” principle and open direct trade and transport links with the mainland and lift investment controls, she claimed.

Chin said she obtained the letters through “reliable channels” from mainland China, adding that she will be happy for law enforcement agencies to examine the letters.

She also suggested that Taiwan’s judicial authorities should investigate the matter.

In a landslide victory for the opposition alliance, the legislature passed an amendment to the Law Governing Legislators’ Exercise of Power, providing a legal ground for the recall providing a legal ground for the recall proposal to remove President Chen Shui-bian from office. Meanwhile, a proposal to impeach Premier Chang Chung-Hsiung was also approved in legislative session as lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties turned out in force in pursuit of their own causes.

Chen needs your support.