In nations that go through transitional justice, it is common to see criminal lawsuits brought against officials of the previous regime, who are held responsible for the wrongs that were done, as is relieving them of their positions and imposing sanctions on them. Another common practice is providing material compensation to victims and providing a reassessment of the old regime. In short, a rehabilitation of everyone who has suffered under the old regime takes place.
Today, when people talk about transitional justice, it encompasses what could perhaps be called the “millennium compensation movement,” which has been going on for the past few years.
The movement includes compensation demands for property losses from descendants of Jewish victims of the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany; demands for compensation related to human trafficking and slavery; compensation demands related to colonialism — in particular the driving out and slaughter of indigenous peoples; and demands for compensation following a transition of power related to an old regime’s abuse of criminal arrests.
Following developments over the past years, the main method of implementing transitional justice in such nations has been to advocate monetary compensation for losses that have resulted from illegal measures and requiring that all forcefully expropriated assets be returned in their entirety.
In Taiwan, the government used unjust methods to obtain privately owned assets during the White Terror era. Although such cases have not been completely ignored in practice, nothing has been done to address them, either by returning the assets or offering compensation.
The government has been unable to handle such cases, offer compensation, or restore private assets that were unjustly expropriated. Regardless of whether as a result of illegal confiscation or expropriation by the government, or as the result of other unfair practices, such cases remain unresolved.
However, a new method of transitional justice — although perhaps not directly connected to authoritarian governments, but addressing issues arising from illegal government actions — has been receiving attention.
For example, illegal indiscriminate expropriation of privately owned land for the purpose of fabricated public interests or for the benefit of certain big corporations has developed into a new form of state violence. This is an area where transitional justice would be required in Taiwan.
When asked in a private meeting in 1943 why his well-known book The Concept of the Political did not mention the public interest that lies at the core of politics, German political scientist Carl Schmitt said that anyone who mentions bonum commune — the public interest or the public good — is out to cheat and deceive.
Much harm has been done to public assets and the public spirit in the name of patriotism and the public interest. Taiwan could do with both the old and the new versions of transitional justice.
Lin Chia-ho is an associate professor at National Chengchi University’s College of Law.
Translated by Perry Svensson
The return of US president-elect Donald Trump to the White House has injected a new wave of anxiety across the Taiwan Strait. For Taiwan, an island whose very survival depends on the delicate and strategic support from the US, Trump’s election victory raises a cascade of questions and fears about what lies ahead. His approach to international relations — grounded in transactional and unpredictable policies — poses unique risks to Taiwan’s stability, economic prosperity and geopolitical standing. Trump’s first term left a complicated legacy in the region. On the one hand, his administration ramped up arms sales to Taiwan and sanctioned
World leaders are preparing themselves for a second Donald Trump presidency. Some leaders know more or less where he stands: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy knows that a difficult negotiation process is about to be forced on his country, and the leaders of NATO countries would be well aware of being complacent about US military support with Trump in power. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely be feeling relief as the constraints placed on him by the US President Joe Biden administration would finally be released. However, for President William Lai (賴清德) the calculation is not simple. Trump has surrounded himself
US president-elect Donald Trump is to return to the White House in January, but his second term would surely be different from the first. His Cabinet would not include former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former US national security adviser John Bolton, both outspoken supporters of Taiwan. Trump is expected to implement a transactionalist approach to Taiwan, including measures such as demanding that Taiwan pay a high “protection fee” or requiring that Taiwan’s military spending amount to at least 10 percent of its GDP. However, if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) invades Taiwan, it is doubtful that Trump would dispatch
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has been dubbed Taiwan’s “sacred mountain.” In the past few years, it has invested in the construction of fabs in the US, Japan and Europe, and has long been a world-leading super enterprise — a source of pride for Taiwanese. However, many erroneous news reports, some part of cognitive warfare campaigns, have appeared online, intentionally spreading the false idea that TSMC is not really a Taiwanese company. It is true that TSMC depositary receipts can be purchased on the US securities market, and the proportion of foreign investment in the company is high. However, this reflects the
RSS