DPP calls
for release of Chen
JUSTICE: Tsai Ing-wen said the former president had disappointed the public, but stressed that all defendants were still entitled to the basic right to an impartial trial
By Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Jun 26, 2009, Page 1
The government's detention of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is
groundless, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, calling for
the immediate release of Chen, who has been incarcerated for more than 200 days
on corruption charges.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told a news conference that although the DPP
agreed that Chen had committed acts that had “disappointed” the public —
including his failure “to keep his family in line” — the court had no right to
sidestep a defendant's basic right to an open, impartial and speedy trial.
Tsai said the DPP was not voicing its support for Chen's claims of innocence,
but was standing up for the right of all defendants and to highlight problems
with Taiwan's judicial system.
Chen has been detained at the Taipei Detention Center in Tucheng (土城), Taipei
County, since Dec. 30 on charges of corruption, money laundering and
embezzlement. He was first detained in November before being briefly released.
Chen's repeated appeals to end his detention have been thrown out by the court,
which said he might collude with witnesses and tamper with evidence.
Tsai was one of the 10 signatories of a joint declaration issued yesterday
calling on the government to implement legal reform and end Chen's detention.
“We call for an immediate end to the detention of former president Chen and for
an immediate reform of the detention system, which violates human rights,” the
statement read.
“Chen's long-term detention has not only impacted on the judiciary's image and
credibility but caused serious social division and confrontation, which
threatens Taiwan's democratic development,” it said.
Other signatories included former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲)
and Citizen Congress Watch chairman Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華).
Wellington Koo (顧立雄), chairman of the Taiwan Bar Association, said that although
he had resigned as Chen's lawyer last year, that did not prohibit him from
speaking up for a former client facing unfair treatment.
It would be impossible for the court to hand down a fair and objective verdict
if the system and process were tainted, Koo said.
Unless the government agrees to a massive overhaul of its detention policy, “the
public will continue to mistrust the legal system thinking the judiciary can be
manipulated and swayed. Such sentiment is a hundred times more dangerous than
Chen's case,” he said.
Tsai said that DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) would present the joint
statement to his Presidential Office counterpart, Chan Chun-po (詹春柏), and the
DPP caucus would also visit the Judicial Yuan and the Ministry of Justice to
discuss the issue.
Aside from launching a “one person, one letter” campaign calling on the public
to voice their support for the cause, the DPP's International Affairs Department
plans to write to all foreign embassies and representative offices, as well as
international nongovernmental human rights organizations, to call for Chen's
release.
The Executive Yuan's Human Rights Protection and Promotion Committee on
Wednesday endorsed a proposal by the Ministry of Justice to reform the pre-trial
detention system.
The ministry said that prolonged detention of suspects stems from a regulation
in the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) that does not set a maximum limit on
the duration of detention for suspects in crimes that would entail a sentence of
10 years or more.
Prolonged detention, however, could cause a lawsuit to drag on for years, which
goes against the basic principle governing legal procedure, the ministry said in
the proposal.
“There wasn't much deliberation about the proposal, as it was listed as a
reporting item and not a discussion item, but the direction in reform of the
detention system was approved,” Research, Development and Evaluation Commission
Minister Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said.
China
accuses Google of spreading porn as US voices concern over 'Green Dam'
CONTENT: Beijing said Google
was spreading obscene images that violated the nation's laws, a day after the
search engine saw its English service disrupted for hours
REUTERS, BEIJING
Friday, Jun 26, 2009, Page 1
China yesterday stepped up accusations that Google was spreading obscene content
over the Internet, a day after US officials urged Beijing to abandon plans for a
controversial filtering software on new computers.
The growing friction over control of online content threatens to become another
irritant in ties at a time the world is looking for the US and China to
cooperate in helping to pull the global economy out of its slump.
The foreign ministry yesterday accused Google's English language search engine
of spreading obscene images that violated the nation's laws, less than 24 hours
after disruptions to the firm's search engines and other services within China.
Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) did not directly say whether official action
was behind the disruptions, but he made plain the government's anger and said
“punishment measures” taken against Google were lawful.
“Google's English language search engine has spread large amounts of vulgar
content that is lascivious and pornographic, seriously violating China's
relevant laws and regulations,” he told a regular news conference.
A spokesman for Google in China declined to comment.
A company spokeswoman at Google in the US said the firm was checking reports of
problems with access in China.
The disruption — coming soon after Google was criticized by China — “seems
beyond mere coincidence,” said Mark Natkin, managing director of Marbridge
Consulting, a Beijing-based company that advises on telecommunications and IT.
Separately, US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and US Trade Representative Ron
Kirk on Wednesday voiced concerns over the “Green Dam” software in a letter to
Chinese officials.
“China is putting companies in an untenable position by requiring them, with
virtually no public notice, to pre-install software that appears to have
broad-based censorship implications and network security issues,” Locke said in
a statement.
China says the “Green Dam” filtering software is to protect children from
illegal images and insists the deadline of July 1 for new computers to be sold
with the software will not change.
An official at the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, which handles trade rows, said
the ministry had no immediate response to the US criticism and referred
questions to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which also had
no comment.
Critics have said the program is technically flawed and could be used to spy on
users and block sites China considers politically offensive.
The proposed new rules raised fundamental questions regarding the transparency
of China's regulatory practices and concerns about compliance with WTO rules,
the US officials said.
They said the rule might violate WTO rules because PC makers got too little
advance notice and explanation.
Tibetans
still waiting for asylum
THE LONG WAIT: Government officials said that the process of verifying Tibetan refugees’ passports and checks by immigration services was very time-consuming
By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Jun 26, 2009, Page 2
Despite promises from Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) Minister
Kao Su-po (高思博) that more than 100 stateless Tibetan refugees in Taiwan would
obtain residency this month, Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association chairman Jamga
(蔣卡) said yesterday that most had yet to hear from the government.
“It’s been half a year and most of the [Tibetan refugees in Taiwan] are still
waiting to obtain their residency,” Jamga told the Taipei Times by telephone.
“Every time we ask the commission and the National Immigration Agency [NIA], we
are told to wait.”
In December, more than 100 Tibetan refugees living in Taiwan without proper
documents began a sit-in at Liberty Square in Taipei asking the government to
grant them asylum.
Most of the refugees had years ago crossed the Himalayas into Nepal or India and
entered Taiwan on visitor visas with forged Nepalese or Indian passports.
Having overstayed their visas, they became illegal residents and since they are
stateless, they have no country to be sent back to.
Their pleas were finally heard when in January the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) was
amended at the legislature to grant them residency.
Yet, as most are still waiting to obtain residency, representatives of the
Tibetans turned to the MTAC again yesterday
“We all respect and obey to [sic] the [MTAC] and keep on wait[ing],” the
Tibetans said in a petition letter written in English and delivered in person to
the commission yesterday.
“Now we are entering in July and there is nothing response from any commission
or agency,” it said.
“Things are getting delay[ed] and more delay[ed],” the statement said.
Only nine Tibetans who held Identity Certificates — a document issued by the
Indian government for Tibetan refugees — were granted residency last month.
Some Tibetans who met MTAC officials said they suspected that the government was
intentionally delaying the process for political reasons.
However, commission chief secretary Chien Shih-yin (錢世英), who received the
Tibetans, denied those accusations and urged them to be patient.
“We [the MTAC] finished verifying the identities of 115 Tibetan refugees in
Taiwan in May and immediately sent all the documents to the NIA,” Chien said.
“The NIA then has to do its own checks.”
He said that since only stateless refugees under certain circumstances could be
granted residency without having to go through the regular application process,
the NIA must first ensure that the Indian and Nepalese passports the Tibetans
held when they entered the country were forged as claimed.
“To verify that information, the NIA has to contact the Indian and Nepalese
governments through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and wait for a reply,” Chien
said, adding that the NIA must also await court decisions on the Tibetans
regarding their violations of immigration laws.
“We would like to get the job done as soon as possible, but the processes take
time,” Chien said.Despite promises from Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission
(MTAC) Minister Kao Su-po (高思博) that more than 100 stateless Tibetan refugees in
Taiwan would obtain residency this month, Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association
chairman Jamga (蔣卡) said yesterday that most had yet to hear from the
government.
“It’s been half a year and most of the [Tibetan refugees in Taiwan] are still
waiting to obtain their residency,” Jamga told the Taipei Times by telephone.
“Every time we ask the commission and the National Immigration Agency [NIA], we
are told to wait.”
In December, more than 100 Tibetan refugees living in Taiwan without proper
documents began a sit-in at Liberty Square in Taipei asking the government to
grant them asylum.
Most of the refugees had years ago crossed the Himalayas into Nepal or India and
entered Taiwan on visitor visas with forged Nepalese or Indian passports.
Having overstayed their visas, they became illegal residents and since they are
stateless, they have no country to be sent back to.
Their pleas were finally heard when in January the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) was
amended at the legislature to grant them residency.
Yet, as most are still waiting to obtain residency, representatives of the
Tibetans turned to the MTAC again yesterday
“We all respect and obey to [sic] the [MTAC] and keep on wait[ing],” the
Tibetans said in a petition letter written in English and delivered in person to
the commission yesterday.
“Now we are entering in July and there is nothing response from any commission
or agency,” it said.
“Things are getting delay[ed] and more delay[ed],” the statement said.
Only nine Tibetans who held Identity Certificates — a document issued by the
Indian government for Tibetan refugees — were granted residency last month.
Some Tibetans who met MTAC officials said they suspected that the government was
intentionally delaying the process for political reasons.
However, commission chief secretary Chien Shih-yin (錢世英), who received the
Tibetans, denied those accusations and urged them to be patient.
“We [the MTAC] finished verifying the identities of 115 Tibetan refugees in
Taiwan in May and immediately sent all the documents to the NIA,” Chien said.
“The NIA then has to do its own checks.”
He said that since only stateless refugees under certain circumstances could be
granted residency without having to go through the regular application process,
the NIA must first ensure that the Indian and Nepalese passports the Tibetans
held when they entered the country were forged as claimed.
“To verify that information, the NIA has to contact the Indian and Nepalese
governments through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and wait for a reply,” Chien
said, adding that the NIA must also await court decisions on the Tibetans
regarding their violations of immigration laws.
“We would like to get the job done as soon as possible, but the processes take
time,” Chien said.
US calls
for release of Chinese dissident
RESPECT: Taiwan’s opposition
DPP urged Beijing to heed calls for democratic reform, while the Presidential
Office said it was ‘concerned about all human rights issues’
AFP , BEIJING AND TAIPEI
Friday, Jun 26, 2009, Page 5
The US yesterday joined calls for the release of prominent Chinese dissident Liu
Xiaobo (劉曉波), but China warned against any foreign interference in the case.
“The US government is deeply disturbed by reports that Liu Xiaobo has been
formally arrested and charged with serious crimes,” said Richard Buangan, a
spokesman for the US embassy in Beijing. “We call on the government of China to
release Mr Liu and respect the rights of all Chinese citizens who peacefully
express their desire for internationally recognized freedoms.”
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking in Washington, had earlier called for
international condemnation of the arrest, calling Liu “courageous.”
Liu, 53, was arrested for inciting “subversion of the government and the
overthrow of the socialist system,” Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday, citing
Beijing police. Authorities have not yet directly confirmed the arrest.
But China rejected foreign pressure over the case.
“Foreign countries should respect China’s judicial sovereignty,” Chinese foreign
ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) told Agence France-Presse in a faxed statement.
“We firmly oppose anyone’s wrong remarks and deeds that interfere in China’s
internal affairs by any means,” he said.
Liu, jailed previously for his involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen Square
pro-democracy movement that was crushed by the army, has long campaigned through
his writing for democracy and the rule of law in China.
He had been detained since December after signing Charter 08, a manifesto signed
by hundreds of intellectuals, scholars and dissidents that called for political
and legal reforms and respect for human rights in China.
Mo Shaoping (莫少平), another Charter 08 signatory and Liu’s lawyer, said that
police told him yesterday he could not represent Liu, but they would not confirm
whether this was because of his signing the manifesto.
Two other lawyers working for Mo would now represent Liu, whom they hoped to
meet today, he said.
Mo said arresting people on the basis of Charter 08 involvement would make China
“the laughing stock of the whole world.”
Liu’s wife Liu Xia (劉霞), who last saw her husband on March 20 in a supervised
visit, said she saw little hope for his release soon.
“For the moment, I cannot see any hope, given the seriousness of the crime he is
accused of,” she said by telephone.
Activists and rights groups strongly condemned Liu’s arrest.
Taiwan’s opposition yesterday also called for Liu’s immediate release, urging
Beijing to heed calls for democratic reform.
“We solemnly call upon the Chinese government to release Liu Xiaobo
immediately,” the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said in a statement issued
in English.
“The Chinese government should face up to these demands from the public for
democratic reform,” instead of suppressing them, trying to “control and use
intimidation” against members of the democratic reform movement, it said.
When asked to comment on the matter, a spokesman for President Ma Ying-jeou
said: “We are concerned about all human rights issues,” without elaborating.
Ties between China and Taiwan have improved dramatically since the
Beijing-friendly Ma was inaugurated last year.
Ding Zilin (丁子霖), a retired Chinese professor whose son was killed in the 1989
crackdown, said in a statement released by New York-based Human Rights in China
that Liu’s arrest showed the government had “shut tight the door to so-called
‘political reform.’”
Brad Adams, Asia director of New York-based Human Rights Watch, said the arrest
indicated a “political hardening” by China.
“But it also misses an opportunity to show the outside world that the government
is confident enough to tolerate thoughtful and peaceful domestic criticism,” he
said in an e-mailed statement.
N Korea
warns of ‘dark clouds of nuclear war’
HOSTILITIES: Accusing the US
and South Korea of trying to provoke another war, the North warned of ‘fiery
showers of nuclear retaliation’ if attacked
AFP , SEOUL
Friday, Jun 26, 2009, Page 5
North Korea yesterday warned that “dark clouds of nuclear war” were gathering
over the peninsula and vowed to strengthen its atomic arsenal as it marked the
anniversary of the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Rodong Sinmun, newspaper of the ruling communist party, accused the US and its
ally South Korea of trying to provoke another war with their pledge of a US
nuclear “umbrella” over the South.
“A touch-and-go situation has been created on the Korean peninsula ... with dark
clouds of a nuclear war gathering as the hours tick by,” it said in a lengthy
commentary marking the anniversary, carried by the official news agency.
The paper said a new war could break out any time and the North would continue
to strengthen its nuclear arsenal.
“As long as the US hostile policy continues, we will never give up our nuclear
deterrent and even strengthen it,” Rodong Sinmun said.
The conflict began with a North Korean invasion on June 25, 1950. It ended with
an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the communist North and
capitalist South still technically at war.
Cross-border relations have soured since a conservative government took office
in Seoul in February last year with a firmer policy toward the North.
And international tensions have grown since Pyongyang’s long-range rocket launch
in early April and its nuclear test late last month.
The North has also fired short-range missiles, renounced the truce in force on
the peninsula and repeatedly warned of possible war.
At a US-South Korean summit in Washington last week, Washington reaffirmed its
commitment to provide the South with a nuclear umbrella.
Rodong Sinmum in a separate commentary yesterday said the nuclear protection
pledge justifies the North’s own nuclear program. It warned of “fiery showers of
nuclear retaliation” in case of any aggression against it.
The paper also denounced the leaders’ joint summit statement as “a disgusting
kiss between the master and his servant.”
Officials believe the North will fire short-range or mid-range missiles off its
east coast in the next fortnight, after it warned foreign ships to stay clear of
a specific area during the period. Washington has also said it is prepared for
the North’s possible firing of a long-range missile toward Hawaii, perhaps on or
around the July 4 US Independence Day.
The North reacted defiantly to a UN Security Council decision on June 12 to
impose new sanctions, which tighten a ban on arms shipments among other
measures. It vowed on June 13 to build more nuclear bombs from its plutonium
resources and to start a separate atomic weapons programme based on enriched
uranium.
As part of efforts to curb the North’s weapons programs, a US destroyer is
shadowing a suspicious North Korean cargo ship apparently heading for Myanmar.
The US Defense Department said the Kang Nam 1 was still being monitored, but
declined to say where it was, or if or when the US Navy might ask to search it.
State media in military-ruled Myanmar said it had no information on the Kang Nam
1. Singapore said the ship has not asked permission to dock there.
Assurances
on assurances
Friday, Jun 26, 2009, Page 8
In July 1982, the US government informed Congress of the “six assurances,” a
clarification of the Taiwan Relations Act that would serve as guiding principles
for continued US-Taiwan relations.
Washington and Beijing then signed a communique on arms sales to Taiwan in
August after a period of intense negotiations. Taiwan was increasingly worried
about the implications of the US rapprochement with China, and the six
assurances were proposed to reassure Taiwan’s authorities that US support would
continue.
One of the assurances agreed to by the US was: “The United States will not
consult with China in advance before making decisions about US arms sales to
Taiwan.”
However, if recent media reports are to be believed, US and Chinese officials
did exactly that in talks in Beijing and Washington this week.
It is no secret that Taiwan has wanted to buy 66 F16C/D fighter jets from the US
for several years, and recent signs from Washington indicate that support for a
deal is gathering pace.
Such a sale would be anathema to Beijing, and Chinese officials must have made
their objections loud and clear during this week’s talks. If it were just a case
of the usual Chinese protestations then it would be nothing to worry about, but
the problem for Taiwan is that over the past few years the US has found itself
increasingly reliant on China, both financially and diplomatically.
This is a problem the US has brought on itself by relying heavily on the Chinese
government for help in dealing with North Korea, an approach that has been of
questionable value.
With Washington under such pressure, it would come as no surprise to discover
that arms sales to Taiwan had been affected by the relentless efforts of
Beijing.
That would tally with the gradual erosion of US policy toward Taiwan over the
decades, a slip embodied by former US president Bill Clinton’s “three noes”
declaration in Shanghai in June 1998. He shattered the US government’s ambiguity
on the issue of Taiwan’s status by saying “no” to Taiwanese independence and
saying that Taiwan wasn’t qualified to be a member of any organization for which
statehood is a requirement.
The joint communique signed between Beijing and Washington in 1982 advocated a
gradual reduction in the amount of arms the US would sell Taiwan. But writing in
2007, late US ambassador Harvey Feldman said that after signing the communique,
former US president Ronald Reagan was so concerned over “its possible effect on
Taiwan” and put so little trust in Chinese promises, that in addition to the six
assurances he also filed a secret memorandum in the National Security Council
files.
The memorandum said that the reduction in arms sales would be predicated on
Beijing’s continued commitment to a peaceful settlement of the Taiwan issue,
adding that, “it is essential that the quantity and quality of the arms provided
Taiwan be conditioned entirely on the threat posed by [China]. Both in
quantitative and qualitative terms, Taiwan’s defense capability relative to that
of [China] will be maintained.”
In light of this week’s meetings and given Beijing’s continued military buildup,
which is largely focused on settling the Taiwan issue in its favor, a public
reiteration of these assurances from Washington would be more than welcome.
Democracy
and the rich-poor gap
By Wu Ting-feng 吳挺鋒
Friday, Jun 26, 2009, Page 8
Figures recently released by the Financial Data Center at the Ministry of
Finance (財稅資料中心) show that the average annual income of the highest-earning 5
percent of taxpayers in 2007 was 62 times higher than that of the lowest 5
percent. This is the highest-ever recorded wealth gap in Taiwan’s history.
This figure is an accepted index for measuring the gap between rich and poor.
Ten years ago, the richest 5 percent were “only” 32 times richer than the
poorest. The degree of inequality has, therefore, almost doubled in just a few
years.
In reality, the real rich-poor gap is even higher than the figures show because
those in the richest 5 percent of the population can use many loopholes to avoid
paying taxes, while the real poorest 5 percent of the population is not counted
in the figures because they are too poor to pay tax at all. Therefore the factor
of 62 is more precisely the gap between the working class and the rich, who, by
avoiding taxes, appear less rich than they really are.
Even if the gap were only as big as stated, the disparity would still give cause
for concern. Taiwan experienced positive economic growth from 1998 to 2007,
except for a brief interlude of negative growth in 2001. The 62-factor gap means
wealth distribution in Taiwan has become completely decoupled from economic
development. The fruits of economic growth have been pocketed by a few, and
Taiwan’s distorted tax system has played a pivotal role in concentrating wealth
instead of distributing it.
This decade of almost uninterrupted growth coincides with the most heated phase
of Taiwan’s democratization. In 1996, then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) became
the nation’s first directly elected president, and in 2000, Taiwan experienced
its first transfer of power from one party to another when Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)
was elected president. Thus the march of democracy proceeded step by step.
Considering that incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) only took office last
year, his administration has no responsibility for the 2007 figures.
However, last year’s financial turmoil has opened a door for a number of
so-called “tax reforms” that once again more favor the wealthy. There is no
reason to believe that Ma will do any more than his predecessors to distribute
wealth equitably. In other words, the three directly elected presidents have all
gone in the same direction, running a relay to achieve this regrettable doubling
of Taiwan’s rich-poor divide.
At least we can take comfort in the fact that Taiwan’s record in this respect is
not as bad as that of some other countries. Nations that became democratic
during what late right-wing political scientist Samuel Huntington called the
“third wave” of democratization in the late 20th century have all experienced a
drastic increase in wealth inequality. This third wave of democratization has
indeed meant the downfall of former totalitarian and authoritarian states around
the world, but this wave of democratic change has not brought about a correction
of social inequality or the advancement of economic justice. In this respect, it
has been quite different from the previous two waves of democratization.
The key difference is that left-wing parties and class-based movements featured
prominently in what Huntington called the first two waves of democratization.
They played an important and onerous role in every battle.
The same is not true of the third wave. In already democratic Western countries,
labor unions have been weakened and parties of the left have changed direction,
leaving the field open for neoliberalism calling for free markets and free
trade. As to those countries that have been newly democratized in the third
wave, some started out from Cold War conditions of right-wing state terror,
while others underwent the worldwide collapse of the former communist bloc.
These countries’ initial experience of democracy has occurred in historical
partnership with neoliberal-style economic liberalization.
Taiwan is no exception, since the “booty” of democratization has included
privatization of state-run enterprises as well as financial and tax reforms.
From this point of view, the third wave of democratization has not been a
continuation of the first two waves. Rather, it has been a break with them, or a
mutation, because the process of democratization in the third wave has not been
accompanied by a parallel improvement in economic equality.
On the contrary, one has been exchanged for the other. The focus on political
democratization has in fact been a cover for the abandonment of economic
equality.
People in Taiwan should be aware of this “exchange,” but should not accept it
without question. When you think about it — back in the days of martial law, did
the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) not often present Taiwan’s high economic
growth rate as a rationale for its authoritarian rule? Luckily, people were not
taken in by this sophistry, otherwise Taiwan would have remained stuck in the
old repressive ways.
The question these days is not much different from what it was in the past.
Political democratization is still used as a cover for unbridled economic
authoritarianism. The contradiction is there for all to see. It’s high time we
started thinking about how to resolve it.
Wu Ting-feng is an assistant professor
at the Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences at National Cheng-Kung
University.