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Editorial: Respecting
freedom of opinion
The latest controversy to hit the government was sparked by comments Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) posted on his
Facebook page concerning the US’ visa-waiver policy and a decision to extend the
National Health Insurance program to Chinese students. The Executive Yuan is to
investigate whether Shih violated the Civil Servants Work Act (公務員服務法). The
government is being rather selective in what it decides to investigate: Is it
thinking of hoisting Shih’s head on a spike outside the city gates as a warning
to others? This raises questions over freedom of expression.
Premier Sean Chen has said Shih’s comments may constitute a violation of the
Civil Servants Work Act, adding that he believes it to be “a legal matter.”
However, the comments do not really constitute a violation of the law, as they
do not contravene Article 4 of the Act, which states that civil servants should
not, without the prior permission of a senior official, divulge any information
related to their work in either a private capacity or in the name of an
institution.
Shih’s Facebook posts concern freedom of expression, a basic right of every
individual, guaranteed by the Constitution.
His comments were made in a private capacity and had nothing to do with his
official duties. Neither the visa-waiver program nor the national health program
are related to his position at the CDC. Had he criticized the insurance
provision policy before it had been decided, it might have been a different
story, and Article 4 of the Act might then have been invoked.
Since the Facebook posts ran counter to the government’s positions, the
government was none to happy, and one Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator
even insinuated Shih was a sleeper working for the Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP). This smacks of paranoia.
Chen clearly wants to make an example of Shih to dissuade other civil servants
from posting comments on social networking sites and embarrassing the
government.
Shih is not the only member of Chen’s Cabinet who likes to express his or her
views on the Internet. Former Cabinet spokesman Hu Yu-wei (胡幼偉) recently
resigned after revealing on Facebook he had been having an affair with a former
student, not long after posting a picture of an iPhone 5 on the site and
likening the subsequent attacks against him to the White Terror Era. Council for
Economic Planning and Development Minister Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) is also known
for avidly blogging and engaging in online fisticuffs, and could be seen as an
accident waiting to happen for the government.
Of course, civil servants should be subject to more stringent regulations
compared with ordinary people about what they say and do.
However, what they do in their private lives, should be left to their own
discretion and the dictates of the Constitution. If what they say is misleading
or incorrect they will be held responsible. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
recently identified points that Shih had failed to fully appreciate about the
visa-waiver program.
Government officials expressing their opinions on Facebook or personal blogs
need not be a bad thing. Former health minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) was
applauded for talking about US beef import and health insurance policies,
showing the public there are some officials who dare to speak their minds.
Even if officials give their opinions on matters not directly related to their
own duties, one could see this as part of their right to freedom of speech, or a
catalyst for new ideas and for exploring different aspects of problems. This is
what it means to have a free society that guarantees freedom of speech.
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