Bulletgate on July 25, 2004

'Bulletgate' harms our democracy

By the Liberty Times editorial

The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Washington office has recently distributed a propaganda pamphlet entitled Bulletgate to many US congresspeople and officials. In the 20-page pamphlet, the KMT and the PFP make accusations about the March 19 shooting incident, the launching of the national security mechanism, and the number of invalid ballots, and then question the legitimacy of President Chen Shui-bian's re-election. According to the pan-blues, the pamphlet will be constantly updated and distributed to Taiwan's "foreign friends" if new information is discovered.

In response to the propaganda, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) plans to launch a counter attack. Some even suggested that the ruling party should sue the blue camp for distributing the pamphlet in the US. The dispute over the presidential election has already entered the judicial process and the two camps should operate within this framework. However, the KMT and the PFP are obviously unwilling to be restricted by the legal process, and they want to continue the dispute politically. To be honest, the outside world can not tell the blue camp what to do to protect their interests, as long as their actions are in accordance with the law. Nevertheless, by washing one's dirty linen abroad and seeking external help during the prosecution of the legal case, the blue camp has departed from judicial norms. On the other hand, if the DPP sues the blue camp in the US, it will create trouble for itself and worsen the impact of Bulletgate on Taiwan.

As the dispute over the election continues, the power struggle among Taiwan's major political parties also continues. Taiwan's domestic affairs should be resolved domestically, without the involvement of foreign forces. Local politicians should set a good example and put their trust in the judicial system. This is the most basic respect for Taiwan's democratic rule of law. Not to mention that the people of Taiwan do not have to worry about the judicial system being manipulated by politics anymore. Even if a judicial ruling is different from what one expects, a person should not keep fighting the result. If this situation really occurs, the best way is perhaps to appeal to the voters, letting them make a fair judgement through the electoral process.

The pan-blues used the suppression of rebellion as an excuse to oppress democracy during the authoritarian era. Many democracy activists were mistreated during this period, especially in the aftermath of the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident. The government manipulated the judicial system to ensure conviction and punishment for these people. Faced with this injustice, the victims could only bear their pain and waste their youth languishing in jail.

Their sustaining of judicial unfairness, however, has finally been compensated by the voters. The victims operated through their relatives to seek public office, and they often won by a large margin. These incidents are a good example of how democracy can redress judicial injustice.

Since the March 20 presidential election, the KMT and PFP have held several mass protests and complained non-stop about the controversy of the presidential election, especially when there were foreign guests visiting Taiwan. If they really had reasonable grounds to protest, they would have received public support. But in fact, the opposite has occurred. Ever since Chen agreed to an immediate recount to show his good will, and Henry Lee's verdict that the shooting could not have been orchestrated by Chen, the majority of Taiwanese have not believed the pan-blue's accusations of electoral corruption. There have even been quite a few pan-blue voters who have advised the KMT-PFP alliance to come out from the shadow of the March 19 shooting and not live in a dream of the election result being overturned.

The true bullet in Bulletgate is directed inwards, for the incident shames both the DPP and the KMT. It also undermines our democratic achievements and hurts the welfare of 23 million Taiwanese. The KMT should open its eyes, for if it continues to despoil Taiwan, it will be taught a lesson in future elections

Lu claims others should apologize for controversy

`NEW CAREERS': The vice president says she never suggested forced emigration, just that mountain folk might rethink their plans and move to other countries
By Lin Chieh-yu
STAFF REPORTER

Vice President Annette Lu yesterday condemned some opposition politicians for what she called a deliberate misinterpretation of her remarks about the government's Aboriginal policies. She said that those politicians should apologize to the public, but that she would not.

"I made none of those remarks provoking the Aboriginal communities, so why should I apologize?" Lu said, responding to reporters' questions about a protest by Aborigines against her remarks that was staged in front of the Presidential Office yesterday after-noon.

Lu insisted that the public should find out who actually made the inappropriate remarks.

"I did not say that the government must force Aborigines to emigrate to Central America, I just suggested that the government's emigration policy should reconsider how to assist residents in central Taiwan's mountain areas to develop new careers in other countries, such as Taiwan's allies in Central America," Lu said.

Lu reaffirmed her statement that no human being is the master of the earth because everyone is just a passing visitor on the planet, so "all of us must respect nature."

"Moreover, I never used the word `extinction' about Aboriginal tribes; it was an Aboriginal legislator using the word to exaggerate my remark maliciously. I think that all

"Aboriginal communities should ask this lawmaker to officially apologize," Lu said.

She blamed those who she said misinterpreted her remarks, saying that they should stop arousing ethnic strife to benefit their personal interests in the upcoming legislative elections.

Lu welcomed Aboriginal citizens to visit Ketagalan Square in front of the Presidential Office, but asked that they sing their traditional folk songs and perform dances instead of carrying guns and knives.

Though some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators defended Lu's remarks, they suggested Lu make an apology to end what they called unnecessary disputes between the Aboriginal community and the DPP government.

"We have sent a letter to all Aboriginal tribal leaders to introduce what the vice president really said and to compare these words with the media's and other politicians' incorrect versions," DPP Ethnic Affairs Department chief Yang Chang-cheng said yesterday.

Yang said that the party sincerely expected the Aboriginal communities not to be misguided by a few malicious politicians, but he also quoted some DPP leaders as saying that "there is nothing bad about making a short goodwill remark expressing regret."

Other politicians said that damage had been done.

"Those aboriginal tribes originally all disliked the DPP; it was a difficult job to communicate with them. Now that we finally won trust from some of them, Lu's remarks -- in which she said that those Aborigines were not Taiwan's first inhabitants -- just spoiled our efforts," said Mayaw Kumud.

Lee Hung-hsi, President Chen Shui-bian's constitutional expert who serves as the head of the DPP's talent-training Ketagalan Academy, told reporters that Lu may have to rethink whether or not to make an apology.

"The main point of the Aboriginal issue is not those recent word wars between the vice president and the Aborigines," said Lee. "It is what goals the government is capable of achieving."

"Some politicians aroused Aborigines' anger to attack Lu, so we can leave the issue to Lu herself to decide whether to apologize," Lee said.

"But we must clearly understand that the government has allocated much more of its budget than other advanced democratic countries, and much more than the former KMT government, to improve Aboriginal communities' welfare and to promote Aboriginal citizens' rights," Lee said.

"Now the public and the Aboriginal leaders should focus on whether President Chen's administration can realize the president's campaign goal of developing `quasi-state-to-state' relationship between the government and the future Aboriginal autonomous region," Lee said.

Blue camp hypocrisy

By Chen Ming-chung
 

Once again, the world can take note: Democracy has taken root in Taiwan not because of the pan-blue camp, but despite it ("KMT still doesn't get democracy," July 21, page 8).

The pan-blue camp is haunted by their own ghost. For so many years, they hid behind their guns, secret police and underworld thugs to silence the voices of the Taiwanese people and maintain their monopoly on power. Now making up the opposition, they suspect the administration of Chen Shui-bian of acting as they once did.

But, nonetheless, Taiwan now enjoys freedom and democracy -- something people on the other side of the Taiwan Strait can only dream about.

The people of Taiwan have two tasks in front of them. First, they must discard the illegitimate KMT, and second, they must defend themselves against Chinese aggression. The Taiwanese have all but finished the first task, but the KMT is doing its best to keep the Taiwanese people from carrying out the second task. In this light, it is not hard to understand why the pan-blue camp acts as it does.

The people of Taiwan, together with their true friends in the US and the world, including the UN, would do well to ignore pan-blue politicians and get on with their next task: To build this country into a fortress. If Taiwan is not able to dissuade the Chinese from invading, we must be able to defeat them.

Chen Ming-chung  Chicago, Illinois

Aboriginal protests are misdirected

The flooding brought by Tropical Storm Mindulle earlier this month was disastrous for southern and central Taiwan. We are all saddened when seeing the destruction of these floods and landslides because, while most of them can be avoided, such disasters are repeated as a result of man-made environmental destruction. We cannot deny the fact that local governments are ignoring excessive logging operations and hillside developments.

The aerial photographs of the disaster areas published by the authorities show that this latest disaster would not have been so serious if the areas hadn't been the target of continuous exploitation. It is understandable that Vice President Annette Lu, who was among the first to visit the disaster area in central Taiwan, showed concern for future water and soil-conservation efforts in the area. She then called for the government not to immediately repair roads, so that those who profit from illegally destroying the land could not continue to do so. Instead she tried to persuade local residents to not over-develop the land and asked them to consider moving villages away from potentially dangerous areas. She also suggested that farmers, with a good grasp of agricultural methods, consider moving to South American nations with which Taiwan has diplomatic relations and set up a new life there.

The vice president's comments on this matter were not discriminatory. Unfortunately, she failed to clarify her remarks in a timely manner. As a result, her words have been repeatedly distorted by some media outlets that have a political agenda. Some legislators and political parties have also attempted to manipulate the issue, even going so far as to say that Lu wants to "exterminate the Aborigines." Hence, not fully understanding of the situation, Aborigines have become angry with Lu and have staged two major protests on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office. In yesterday's demonstration, they used the slogan "Oppose discrimination; strive for survival" to condemn President Chen Shui-bian's government.

Over 70 percent of the farmers cultivating mountain land live on the plains. Those cultivating mountain land are mostly Aborigines and the farmland belongs to them. But planting technology, capital, and sales channels are all in the hands of those "people of the plains." Thus, those who rent the farmland from the Aborigines are actually the ones who are damaging the land. These people also know how to exploit legal loopholes and can often avoid official inspections. Those who really should emigrate to South America, therefore, are those people living on the plains but who make their living by cultivating the mountain land.

Aborigines represent about 2 percent of Taiwan's total population. This is not the first time they have been misled and provoked into action by politicians. Whenever they make demands, there is political intervention. The Makao Chinese Cypress National Park is one prominent example. It is therefore the responsibility of the Aborigines to learn the full truth and help the government find the real culprits behind the destruction of their land so that the Aborigines do not inadvertently become their accomplices.

Furthermore, some people of Aboriginal descent, but who have never lived with their tribe, want to use the destruction brought by Tropical Storm Mindulle as a means to further their own political agenda. These people have their sights set on winning Aboriginal votes in the year-end legislative elections.

The Aborigines should not let these people succeed in their political schemes, lest the Aborigines' protests deteriorate into an ongoing political drama.