It is commonplace in workplaces and companies around the globe during celebrations for members of staff to perform a play or song poking fun at their superiors for the enjoyment of their colleagues.
It is an entirely different matter when prosecutors involved in the highest-profile and most politically sensitive trial in the nation’s history — the upcoming trial of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) — use such an occasion to poke fun at the defendant.
But this was the case on Sunday, when in an apparent “celebration” of Law Day, prosecutors — some of them directly involved in Chen’s case — performed a skit in which a detainee raised her handcuffed hands and shouted “judicial persecution,” openly mocking the former president, much to the amusement of an audience that included senior judges and prosecutors.
All the more perturbing was that the writer of the skit, Taipei’s Chief Prosecutor Ching Chi-jen (慶啟人), who visited Switzerland and Singapore last year as part of the investigation into the allegations of money-laundering against the former first family, seemed to think there was nothing wrong with her behavior.
One might expect State Prosecutor-General Chen Tsung-ming (陳聰明), whose job it is to review the handling of cases and to discipline prosecutors, or Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) would order disciplinary action over such an act, except it appears that Wang was herself a member of the audience.
Wang tried to brush off concerns about the incident at a press conference on Wednesday, dismissing the play as something to “help everybody relax,” adding that “there’s no reason to take it too seriously.”
Already under intense domestic and international scrutiny following the well-documented series of irregularities that have taken place during the investigation and the court proceedings, one might think prosecutors would have more sense than to bring even more unwanted attention to themselves.
But no, the arrogance of these people seems to know no bounds, while professionalism and judicial ethics have apparently gone out of the window.
Even more worrying than this latest sideshow, however, is the continued silence of the Ma administration.
Repeated statements from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) that he “respects the independence of the judiciary” are little comfort when it is clear that increasing numbers of the general public have no faith in it whatsoever.
For a government that appears hyper-sensitive to even the slightest criticism from overseas, the administration’s refusal to take action against such glaring challenges to the independence, impartiality and competence of the judiciary following numerous expressions of concern can only be interpreted as tacit approval of all that has gone on.
Respected Asian law academic and Ma’s mentor during his studies at Harvard University, Jerome Cohen, wrote before this latest episode that recent court proceedings in the former president’s case “have mocked the promise” that Chen will receive a fair trial.
By mocking the former president in such a callous manner, prosecutors have not only vindicated Cohen’s concerns, but also made a mockery of the entire judicial system.
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
RSS