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Judicial reform on
wrong track, DPP’s Tsai says
NEXT PLEASE: Tsai said that her campaign slogan
“Taiwan NEXT,” stemmed from a determination to ensure the well-being of Taiwan’s
next generation
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Judicial reform under the current administration is on the wrong track, because
non-interference in some cases and indictments of heavyweight politicians does
not constitute reform, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and
presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
In an interview published in the -Chinese-language United Evening News, the
54-year-old presidential hopeful talked about President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九)
judicial reforms, the highly publicized indictment of former president Lee
Teng-hui (李登輝) as well as her economic policies.
Judicial reforms should start with systematic changes, she said.
WRONG-HEADED
“If President Ma’s reforms starts with cases that have political implications,
then they are heading in the wrong direction,” Tsai said.
For example, the indictment of Lee, who on Friday was charged with embezzling
state funds, gives rise to certain suspicions, she said, adding that opinion
polls showed most Taiwanese, particularly in southern parts of the country, felt
the move was politically motivated.
Ma “talks about judicial reform and non-interference in specific cases every
day, but that does not represent real reform,” she said.
As to whether the Ma administration had adhered to the principle of
non-interference in specific cases, “the public will make its own judgment,”
Tsai said.
Tsai said she has consistently refrained from discussing judicial cases
involving former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and now Lee because real reform
should focus on protecting the rights of ordinary citizens, who tend not to
enjoy the support and resources available to politicians.
On rumors that she, too, is implicated in an improper use of state funds case,
Tsai said that while she did receive a subsidy for her research at the time,
implying she embezzled state funds was a “vicious tactic.”
SOCIAL SUPPORT
A national leader should be able to generate the political will and social
support to reform the judiciary as well as deal with conflicts of interest and
various historical problems, Tsai said.
However, the Ma administration has deliberately shied away from making some
much-needed decisions and had remained unaccountable, she said.
Meanwhile, Tsai said she was optimistic the DPP would be able to establish a
“clean government,” saying the party had learned from its mistakes when it was
in office from 2000 until 2008.
To label the DPP a corrupt party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
uncorrupt would be a “dumbfounding assertion,” she said, as the KMT is much
richer and its integrity has continually been questioned.
On economic issues, Tsai, who played a key role in Taiwan’s negotiations with
the WTO, expanded on her vision of a “globalized economy” for Taiwan.
The goal, she said, was to develop competitive sectors “with local
characteristics,” such as orchid growing and the high-value-added service
sector.
VISION
“Research and development can also develop into a sector of its own rather than
a division controlled by private corporations,” she said, adding that the
transformation of Taiwan’s industrial structure could take as long as a decade.
Explaining her campaign slogan “Taiwan NEXT,” Tsai said this stemmed from a
determination to ensure the well-being of Taiwan’s next generation and the
country’s development over the next 10 years.
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