Former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) mentor at Harvard Law School, Jerome Cohen, has labeled Ma's indictment on embezzlement charges "stunning" and "surprising."
Cohen said Ma should try to prove his innocence if he feels he was wronged.
If Ma is cleared of the charges, Cohen said there is no doubt that the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman could run for the presidency.
During an interview with CNA, Cohen, who is now a law professor at New York University, described Ma as honest and upright. He said he felt sympathetic and sad -- just the way he felt when another of his Taiwanese students -- Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) -- was jailed for her political activities in the 1980s.
Ma and Lu both studied with at Cohen at Harvard Law School. Lu received a masters in law in 1978, while Ma received his doctorate in law in 1981.
Returning from the US in 1978, Lu joined in the pro-democracy movement. A 20-minute speech at a rally held to commemorate Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, 1979 in Kaohsiung led to her arrest and conviction for sedition.
Sentenced to 12 years, Lu was granted a medical parole because of thyroid cancer after five years and four months.
"People should give Taiwan's judicial system a chance," said Cohen, who has long paid attention to Taiwan's democratic development as well as human rights and judicial practices in China.
He said Ma's indictment was a whole new case and that the judicial system had faced greater pressure given the increasing level of inter-party confrontation.
The case could be an "interesting" challenge for Taiwan in its efforts to develop democratic politics, he said.
Meanwhile, in Taipei, President Chen Shui-bian (
It was the first time the president had commented on his former rival's indictment.
Chen made the remark during the question-and-answer session at a year-end luncheon with Presidential Office press corps at the Taipei Guest House.
Chen said he had originally hesitated to make any comment but decided he would continue to reflect and exercise caution.
Lu was also at the luncheon and said she was not surprised by Ma's announcement that he would enter the presidential race.
She said she respected his decision, but the public would be the final judge.
At a separate event yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (
Should Ma win, there would be two scenarios, he said, both of which would create a "storm" in domestic politics.
If Ma won the election, but was convicted and sentenced before his inauguration, a second election would have to be held because without the constitutional immunity to prosecution that comes with the presidency, Ma could go to jail, Wang said.
If Ma's trial was still going on at the time of his inauguration, he would enter office as a president suspected of corruption, the DPP lawmaker said.
"Either way, the nation would not be able to stand it," Wang said, urging Ma to postpone his presidential bid to 2012.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS