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Rule of law crucial
for democracy
By Paul Lin 林保華
As a result of the introduction of Chinese national education in Hong Kong’s
educational curriculum and the resulting youth protests, I have recently been
thinking about the issue of “Chinese culture.” I wonder to what extent Taiwan is
afflicted by the Chinese cultural tradition of placing the rule of man over the
rule of law. The reason the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is now eager to
promote Confucius is that the Confucian idea of the rule of man is in line with
the goals of the government in Beijing.
At the turn of the century, in response to public discontent over increasing
corruption in the Chinese government, then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民)
came up with the slogan “ruling the country by virtue.” Later, Chinese President
Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) proposed the “eight honors and eight shames” slogan. Former
Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai (薄熙來), a protege of Jiang, took the highest moral
ground when he proposed the idea of “praising the Communist Party and fighting
organized crime,” and to date, not one Chinese official has openly dared to say
anything against this.
The issue of corruption was completely ignored at the recent trial of Bo’s wife,
Gu Kailai (谷開來), who was convicted of poisoning English businessman Neil
Heywood. The reason is simple: If corruption were treated as a crime, hardly any
senior CCP member would be able to keep their job. This is why from the
beginning, Hu instructed that Gu’s case be treated as an isolated murder case.
However, Gu’s dispute with Heywood involved money and ended in murder, so by not
mentioning corruption, the CCP is making it all the more obvious that corruption
was involved.
Taiwan’s judiciary is also full of examples of the rule of man. Let us look at
the decisions handed out on two similar cases: one involving former president
Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) state affairs fund and one involving then-Taipei mayor Ma
Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) special allowance fund. Chen was subject to considerable moral
preaching during his trial and received severe sentences. Ma, on the other hand,
managed to donate the illicit funds he had obtained before the Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) could file a lawsuit. The judge then cited this as proof
of Ma’s lack of criminal intent and let him get away scot-free. In addition, in
order to convict Chen, the judge originally in charge of the case, Chou Chan-chun
(周占春), was changed. These are all blatant examples of the rule of man as opposed
to the rule of law.
To promote unification, Ma does not hesitate to substitute universal, originally
Western, values with “Chinese culture.” Besides pushing for the study of Chinese
classics in Taiwanese schools, he also embarked on a campaign to promote good
moral character among political officials. Thanks to this campaign, two examples
of people of high moral character have now appeared among his troupe: former
Cabinet secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世) and Council for Economic Planning
and Development Minister Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘).
Lin did Ma’s dirty work for him and Yiin is a strong supporter of Ma. The public
has seen the extent of Lin’s alleged corruption and disregard for the law,
although many of the details surrounding the case remain unclear because the
Special Investigation Division is still waiting for the people to come forward
and provide evidence since it does not want to investigate the case. The
handling of Lin’s case stands in stark contrast to the government’s proactive
investigation into Chen’s case, which some said included fabricating evidence.
I am all for defending someone based on idealistic grounds. However, I am
strongly opposed to doing so just to remain in someone’s good graces. Given the
state of Taiwan’s economy, falling standards of living and the problems
Taiwanese businesspeople are facing in China, the question arises as to what
Yiin has accomplished.
Taiwan just posted its ninth consecutive economic “blue light” — signaling
recession — last month. What good is that for Taiwanese businesspeople returning
from China and Taiwan’s disadvantaged groups? Yiin initially went all-out to
defend Ma’s signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with
China. Now that it does not seem the right thing to do, he has changed his tune.
Is this a good example of “high moral character”?
If Taiwan does not have the true rule of law, then it cannot have true
democracy. Without the last line of defense that justice represents, how can
this “democracy” still be considered just?
Paul Lin is a political commentator.
Translated by Drew Cameron
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