Taiwan’s pride
Taiwanese English paper China Post carries an editorial today exploring the meaning of the corruption charges against the First Lady on Taiwan’s young democracy.
Prosecutors’ move step forward for democracyTaiwan’s young democracy seems to be in a big mess, with the first lady indicted on corruption charges and prosecutors saying they have enough evidence to go after the president.
But analysts say there’s an important bright spot: Taiwan’s democratic system is showing that it’s mature enough to have legal officials prosecute some of the island’s most powerful people.
This would be unthinkable in many Asian countries. And it certainly wouldn’t have happened 20 years ago in Taiwan, when the president enjoyed almost unlimited powers under martial law.
Taiwan’s scandal exploded Friday when prosecutors announced they were holding President Chen Shui-bian accountable for his role in the alleged theft of NT$14.8 million from a special diplomatic fund. They also indicted his wife, Wu Shu-chen, for allegedly taking the money.They said Chen would be brought to justice upon leaving office, when his presidential immunity from prosecution lapses.
The development shocked many of Taiwan’s 23 million people, who had strong doubts about whether their still evolving democracy was mature enough for prosecutors to investigate top leaders without interference from above.
But the recent moves against Chen and Wu have changed perceptions, said Philip Yang of Taipei’s National Taiwan University.
The prosecutors’ decision proves “that Taiwan has entered the stage of forming and consolidating a system of law and affirming democratic values,” Yang said. “This is a critical stage on the way to becoming a mature democracy.”
Echoing his comments, the mass-circulation Apple Daily newspaper headlined its Saturday edition with kudos for the prosecutors. “A proud day for Taiwanese justice,” it said in huge, bold, yellow Chinese characters.
Yang acknowledged it was understandable that many Taiwanese were surprised that the prosecutors confronted Chen and his wife head-on.
“The feelings of doubt about the Taiwanese judiciary did not come out of nowhere,” he said. “Any time there is a change from authoritarian to democratic rule, it is inevitable that past influences will still have an effect on the party and politicians in power.”
Emile Sheng of Taipei’s Soochow University said that while the prosecutors’ action was encouraging, it doesn’t mean that political interference is no longer a factor in the judiciary.
“Maybe 800 (prosecutors) are independent and 200 are not,” said Sheng, who has long been critical of Chen and helped lead a street campaign to oust him.
Sheng said the prosecutors handling Chen’s case had done their job well. But he said the real test for Taiwan was whether it would prompt the president to leave office before the scheduled end of his term in May 2008.“On the one hand, it’s a disgrace to Taiwanese democracy that Chen is so corrupt,” he said. “On the other it’s a testament to it that he is being called to account for his actions. But if the system really works, he’ll have to leave his post.”
Andrew Yang of Taipei’s Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies said that beyond its implications for Taiwan, the prosecutors’ move could also have an impact on neighboring China, which has serious corruption problems of its own.
“The Taiwanese experience could put a lot of pressure on Chinese politicians in terms of their own anti-corruption campaign,” said Yang. “Chinese people could pressure their government to do more against corruption and adopt the Taiwanese model.”
Widespread corruption on the mainland has become a serious concern for the ruling Communist Party, with many senior leaders saying that unless the problem is reined in quickly, the survival of Communist power is in doubt.
Tags: taiwan, chen shui-bian, corruption, wu shu-jen
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