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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.
 

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