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MA-WANG SHOWDOWN:
President accused of using SID as ¡¥personal tool¡¦
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Civic groups yesterday accused President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) of using the Supreme
Prosecutors¡¦ Office Special Investigation Division (SID) as his ¡§personal tool¡¨
for political persecution and jeopardizing the nation¡¦s constitutional system.
They called for the division to be abolished.
While influence peddling by politicians deserved condemnation, Ma¡¦s open attack
on Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (¤ýª÷¥), who was allegedly involved in
lobbying the judiciary, is a more serious concern, the representatives of
various groups said yesterday.
Lawyer Huang Di-ying (¶À«Ò¿o) said Taiwan should learn from the experience of South
Korea, Germany and the US, which have all abolished agencies similar to the SID.
By commenting on Wang¡¦s alleged lobbying and demanding that he be removed, Ma
breached his responsibility under the Constitution, Taiwan Democracy Watch
spokesperson Hsu Wei-chun (®}°¶¸s) told a press conference.
Ma, who is chairman of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and Premier Jiang Yi-huah
(¦¿©y¾ì), another KMT member, had both prioritized party politics and ignored the
constitutional order with their public comments about removing Wang from the
legislative speakership, Hsu said.
¡§Judicial lobbying is intolerable, but due process is necessary in holding
lobbyists accountable,¡¨ Hsu said.
¡§We believe the president, premier and prosecutor-general [Huang Shih-ming
(¶À¥@»Ê)] have all damaged the nation¡¦s constitutional order through excessive
wiretapping and surveillance as well as by violating the separation of powers.
This [situation] is not acceptable,¡¨ Hsu said.
At a separate press conference in Taipei, representatives from pro-independence
groups said Ma¡¦s insistence on removing Wang was suspicious because the
president could have his eyes set on more ambitious goals.
For Ma, Wang had to go because as speaker he had failed to get the cross-strait
service trade agreement through the legislature, Taiwan Society president Chang
Yen-hsien (±iª¢¾Ë) said.
¡§With a new speaker, it would be easier for Ma to pass the agreements on trade
in goods, culture and the top prize ¡X a peace agreement ¡X in the future,¡¨ Chang
said.
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