扁案司法鬧劇 國外媒體注意But Taiwanese are mute

Relative to the shock and disgust felt outside of Taiwan about the incredibly illegal proceedings in KMT's persecution of 陳水扁 and his family and friends, Taiwanese are amazingly mute. In regards to the extreme unethical and unprofessional conducts of 台北地檢署檢察官,

In a celebration of the 63rd Law Day (司法節), ... Taipei District Prosecutor Office arranged a show on the stage to humiliate the accused, the former President Chen Shui-bian, who is still under THEIR OWN ongoing investigations.

Taiwanese reactions are inappropriate for civilized people:

• None of the prosecutors had been disciplined
• Not only that, Justice Minister Wang openly defended the act as clean fun
  
• Judges, prosecutors and lawyers being entertained during the infamous event have been silent, making me wonder how they have the courage and sense of justice to defend citizens' rights.

Taiwanese should reflect on why it is foreigners who are fighting for their justice.

I.

扁案牽動政治神經

林楠森 BBC中文部特約記者 陳致中和妻子對家族洗錢案表示有罪 台灣司法機關本周就前總統陳水扁被指控的一系列案件開庭審判，台灣政府雖反覆表示這僅是司法案件，但形勢的發展，也持續引起政治面的臆測與關注。 台北地方法院這個星期的密集開庭，審判的案件包括檢方對陳水扁及其家人的貪污，收賄，洗錢等指控，檢察官在一起政府單位收 購民間土地的案件中，以"借勢借端勒索"等多項罪名起訴陳水扁。對於被冠上這種一般用於起訴地痞流氓的罪名，陳水扁在法庭上說這是對他的羞辱，令他死不瞑 目。 而數日後在法院另外針對陳水扁家人的洗錢審判庭上，陳水扁的兒子夫婦則當庭認罪，表示對未認清"處理金錢"與"洗錢"界線感到後悔。 作為陳水扁家族海外賬戶受益人的陳致中夫婦，除了就洗錢案認罪外，並表示將會把海外的資金匯到司法機關指定賬戶，未來不會動用到這筆金錢。 相對於他的家人仍然保持自由之身，陳水扁則持續被關押。台北地方法院此前是以另外指派法官的方法，推翻原審法官的裁定，將陳水扁二度收押﹔這種不尋常的作法引起了政治力介入，與執政的國民黨對陳水扁進行政治報復的臆測。 有美國學者提出馬英九類似尼克松以司法手段對付政敵的質疑，台灣政府除了由新聞局出面否認外，總統馬英九本周在接受台灣一家電視台專訪時，也再度撇清他絕對沒有介入此案。 馬英九說他絕對不會干預司法，也不會干涉任何案件，對於陳水扁的審判他甚至連進度都不願意打聽。 "鬧劇氣氛" 馬英九此前已多次作過類似的表示，再度表態可能與他在美國哈佛大學求學時的教授孔傑榮（Jerome Cohen）一段公開喊話有關，他說希望馬英九不要讓此案成為鬧劇，並應阻止令人越來越感到不安的鬧劇氣氛。 孔傑榮此言是因為台灣司法人員在司法節的晚會上，由檢察官模仿陳水扁遭收押時高舉手銬喊冤來諷刺陳水扁，在場觀看表演的包括法務部長以及法官與檢察官，從司法界觀眾哄堂大笑的反應來看，這樣的演出達到了娛樂台下司法人員效果。 但是這樣的表演在孔傑榮眼中並不好笑，他以"令人無法想像"來描述司法人員的作法，他並認為這種現象好像是有人想要拋棄台灣過去十五年所有的進步。 孔傑榮在約三十年前於哈佛大學與馬英九相識後，兩人持續保持良好關係，在馬英九擔任總統後他於去年與馬英九會面，此前他也曾在台灣總統競選期間，就馬是否在哈佛擔任國民黨特務學生為馬提出辯護。 但針對台灣政府對陳水扁相關案件的處理，孔傑榮認為馬英九迎合國民黨內的極端派， 並說馬迎合右派保守勢力的作法，與剛卸任的美國總統布什類似。 這起案子是否能受到公平審判，除了受到美國學者的關切外，也受到剛離任的英國駐台代表麥瑞裡（Michael Reilly）的關心。 麥瑞裡在離任的記者會上說，司法公正與無罪推定應適用於包括陳水扁在內的所有人，他並對台灣未經法庭審判可以關押被告的程序表示關切。 對於陳水扁持續被關押一事，麥瑞裡說他不是選邊站，但是台灣人民應該問自己的問題是：陳水扁是否應在未受審情況下被關押？陳水扁是否真的會逃離台灣？ 未來發展 陳致中在法庭上認罪後，在法庭外就其家族的洗錢案向台灣公眾鞠躬道歉時說，他為這起事件造成社會付出很大代價與政治上的對立，以及綠營支持者難過傷心而致歉。 就如陳致中所說，這起對執政八年的前總統審判，在很多面向上引起了台灣社會上的對立氣氛。 對於痛恨陳水扁的一派來說，他們認為陳水扁一切待遇都有罪有應得並應受更嚴厲對待， 一些對輿論有引導作用的"名嘴"與國民黨立委，並且例常性的在台灣媒體上對陳水扁提出各種指控。 對於支持陳水扁的一派來說，陳水扁的遭遇讓他們懷疑，國民黨過去對反對者司法鎮壓與媒體抹黑的作法再度復活。 相關情勢的發展除了在台灣內部受到高度關注，也受到了一些國際組織的密切觀察。 美國的"自由之家"此前表示，他們將密切注意未來一年對陳水扁的審判案件，"自由之家"並認為對台灣來說，未來的一年將會是關鍵性的一年。 II. Published on Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/01/24/2003434533 US-based Taiwan experts add names to open letter By William Lowther STAFF REPORTER, WASHINGTON Saturday, Jan 24, 2009, Page 3 Two important Taiwan experts based in Washington have added their names to the open letter published in the Taipei Times earlier this week expressing concern about what they see as an erosion of justice in Taiwan. The new signatories are former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Randall Schriver and George Washington University academic Michael Yahuda. In the original letter a group of international academics and writers urged President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to order an independent inquiry into the way police squashed protests during the visit of Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林). The letter said: “The establishment of a scrupulously neutral commission is essential if there is to be a fair and objective conclusion on the disturbances that occurred during the Chen Yunlin visit.” Freedom House, Amnesty International and US professor Jerome Cohen have also strongly recommended an independent inquiry. At the same time, the group has expressed concern about the legal proceedings in the case of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and political pressure from KMT members of the Legislative Yuan that preceded a switch from a three-judge panel that had released the former president on his own cognizance to a court that subsequently detained him again. The letter said there had been a “widespread pattern of leaks to the media regarding ongoing cases — leaks, which because of their content and nature can only have come from the prosecutors’ offices.” It mentioned a recent skit in which some prosecutors involved in Chen’s case poked fun at the former president. “This pattern of behavior displays a distinct bias in the judicial system and a disregard for fair and impartial processes,” it said. It concluded by again urging Ma “to ensure that your government and its judiciary and parliamentary institutions safeguard the full democracy, human rights and freedom of expression.” In an article published this week in its Taiwan Communique, the Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs said the last few months had seen a further erosion of human rights and democracy in Taiwan. It said the downward slide started in mid-October with the arrest and detention of former and present officials of the Democratic Progressive Party administration and worsened with aggressive police behavior during the Chen Yunlin visit in early November. “Both developments were reminiscent of Taiwan’s police state under the Kuomintang’s [KMT] martial law, which lasted from 1947 until 1987,” the article said. It quoted Cohen, who was Ma’s law professor at Harvard, as saying that the recent court proceedings against Chen Shui-bian “mocked the promise” of fairness. “At what point does the presumption of innocence become meaningless and the pre-conviction detention morph into punishment for a crime not finally proved?” Cohen asked.

台北地檢署檢察官: Extreme unethical and unprofessional conducts

The shocking episode is detailed here: Taipei District Prosecutors Humiliate the Accused of Their Ongoing Investigations. Another good read is 台北地檢署徹底污辱司法節. Both expressed outrage and strongest condemnation. But we need more. Citizens should demand:

1. these unethical and unprofessional civil servants be immediately dismissed from their post and be punished to the full extent of the law, and
   
2. a complete and immediate overhaul of the judicial system.

How farcial is the judicial?

JFK says it well in his 2008-12-31 posting: The KMT's ex-legislator Diane Lee: the Smell of Rotten Fish Becomes Stronger in Taiwan

Is justice partial in Taiwan? Only the blind cannot see that one.

司法院長賴英照pretends ethicalcontemptuous of law

I. This news makes people assume that 司法院長賴英照 think highly of ethics.

賴英照：律師兩年後擬加考倫理
yam天空新聞 - 2008年12月29日
〔記者羅正明／竹縣報導〕司法院長賴英照昨天應邀到中央大學法律及政治研究所演講，他鼓勵學生專業之外也要重視倫理。並指考試院已慎重考量兩年後的律師考試，是否加考倫理考題。 有學生當面問及陳水扁洗錢案，但他強調不適合對個案發表意見。 賴英照的講題是「我的學思 ...

II. The next news showed that two judges protested to the same 司法院長賴英照 that the proceeding in the case of 扁案 was unconstitutional.

司法樁腳說 洪英花：受過國民黨栽培
自由時報 - 13小時前
〔本報訊〕台北地方法院將扁案併給審判長蔡守訓的合議庭審理引發部分外界輿論，宜蘭地方法院院長黃瑞華與士林地方法院刑庭庭長洪英花12月31日上午聯袂主動求見司法院長賴英照表達不認同，結果引發國民黨立委邱毅、蔡正元昨日在政論節目暗批兩位法官是陳前總統的「司法樁 ...

III.

賴英照：不評論個案
聯合新聞網 - 2008年12月30日
台北地方法院就扁案分案引發外界疑慮，有法官投書報章及在內部論壇網站批評，要求司法院調查，以釋群疑；司法院長賴英照昨天重申，司法院不評論個案，且避免採取可能讓外界認為影響獨立公正審判的措施。 扁家弊案先分案給審判長周占春的重金庭，後來又併案給原審判國務機 ...
賴英照：尊重司法給法官純淨審判空間 自由時報
地院高層批扁案併給蔡守訓有違審判獨立應回復周占春 NOWnews
扁案北院抽籤引質疑司法院：不評論個案 臺灣新浪網

The allegation that 扁案 proceeding was unconstitutional cannot be answered with No comment:

黃瑞華與洪英花: the case was handled unconstitionally because of ...
賴英照: No comment.

To say no comment means he will proceed even if the case is indeed handled unconstitutionally. As Justice Chief, he is responsible to make sure that the case was handled legally. So, why is it that he did not even put out a pretense of respecting law? The ethical facade was destroyed by his unethically stonewalling us with no comments when we need him to assure us that the proceeding was legal.

Finally, what's his comment about stonewalling 李慶安's American citizenship investigation for 300 days and 馬英九叛國 cases for 150 days? He has nothing to say.

KMT stonewalls 李慶安 investigation for 300 days

Today marks the 300th day that KMT stonewalls citizens' request to investigate 李慶安's American citizenship. The judicial system is not wavering. It refused to do anything about 李慶安. 李慶安 is free to flee like 王又曾. Perhaps she is already out of the country.

Alan Mulcany: 陳雲南, 王清峰, 邱毅 should be charged for gross acts of interference

Alan Mulcany quotables:

The KMT believes that it is not accountable to anyone (except the Chinese Communist Party) and that it can get away with everything.

By now it should be crystal clear that KMT is the cancerous growth that must be eradicated from Taiwanese public life, but how do you achieve this?

the ruling KMT does not have the foggiest idea what [democratic] values are.

all Taiwanese who care one iota about their country's future had better learn from the Wild Strawberries, and fairly quickly.

Taiwan's Dreyfus Affair
Alan MULCANY
Swords, County Dublin, Ireland

Those familiar with French history might know that last century "l'Affaire Dreyfus" split French public opinion down the middle, just as the "l'Affaire Chen Shui-bian [陳水扁]" threatens to do in Taiwan nowadays.

First of all, whether I regard Chen as guilty or innocent of the charges brought against him is irrelevant right now. It is the procedure followed against Chen that matters.

The procedure that has been used might be normal in countries like China or North Korea, but should have no place in a democratic country like Taiwan claims to be.

I am no legal expert, but I do know that in countries like Ireland, Britain and most other European countries, any action aimed at influencing an upcoming trial is a criminal offense known as "Contempt of Court."

And if a prosecutor like Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) were to engage in such an offense, aside from being immediately kicked out of the judiciary, he would have certainly been charged, along with Justice Minister Wang Ching-feng (王清峰), Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) and many other Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials for their gross acts of interference in the ongoing proceedings against Chen.

Going back to Captain Dreyfus, thankfully he was eventually found innocent and rightly so. But regarding Chen, despite the numerous "J'accuse [I accuse]" and "Nous accusons [we accuse]" launched by human rights campaigners and legal experts from the world over, I would not hold my breath.

For a start, France at that time was already a country somehow committed to democratic values, while the ruling KMT does not have the foggiest idea what such values are.

The KMT believes that it is not accountable to anyone (except the Chinese Communist Party) and that it can get away with everything.

By now it should be crystal clear that KMT is the cancerous growth that must be eradicated from Taiwanese public life, but how do you achieve this?

I have seen messages on pro-Taiwan discussion boards calling for things like revolution, civil war, and so on, but as an Irishman (whose country has gone through all this before), I don't agree.

I do believe that the Taiwanese can start their rebellion against the KMT dictatorship with a peaceful Gandhi-style campaign. The campaign would include extremely noisy protests and demonstrations, strikes (especially in companies owned by the KMT or pro-KMT business-folks), boycotts (like postal workers refusing to handle mail directed to the government or KMT offices, dock workers refusing to handle ships coming from or bound for China), blockades, occupations, refusals to pay taxes or fines and many more acts of civil disobedience. The list is endless.

I know that in Taiwan there is not the same militant and rebellious mentality as, say, in Greece, but for the sake of Taiwan's future, all Taiwanese who care one iota about their country's future had better learn from the Wild Strawberries, and fairly quickly.

ALAN MULCANY

Swords, County Dublin, Ireland

Demand immediate arrest of 李慶安 before she flees like 王又曾 V

Here is a powerful article 台北地檢署為什麼不法辦重罪犯李慶安？

I would like 臺北地方法院檢察署 to answer this question, so I submitted (part of ) the article to 台灣台北地方法院檢察署 檢察長信箱. In seconds, I received an acknowledgment from 台灣台北地方法院檢察署 like this:

from tpcmail@mail.moj.gov.tw
to xxxxxxxx@gmail.com
date Thu, Jan 1, 2009 at 6:21 PM
subject 《臺灣台北地方法院檢察署檢察長信箱確認信》
mailed-by mail.moj.gov.tw

寄件者　：xxx
聯絡電話：1-xxx-xxx-xxxx
電子信箱：xxxxxxxx@gmail.com
聯絡地址：xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
意見內容：
台北地檢署為什麼不法辦重罪犯李慶安？

當檢調單位對一個犯行明確、罪證確鑿的重刑犯睜一隻眼閉一隻眼，甚至在這個重刑犯有幾近百分之百潛逃海外的可能性，但卻沒有限制出境甚至連羈押都沒有的時候，人民自然會推想檢調單位有可能是在包庇這個重刑犯。

泛藍立委李慶安14年前入籍美國，之後在台灣違法連續參選並擔任市議員及立委。國籍法規定雙重國籍不能擔任公職，（2007年以前的）選罷法規定雙重國籍者不得參選，李慶安違法14年罪證已經很明確。

但是，台北地檢署為什麼好像突然間耳聾眼瞎，沒有看到這個重刑犯？

...

If you send similar messages to 台北地檢署, please consider including the URL of this blog 台灣極不公平的司法是人民最大公敵
Taiwan's extremely unfair judicial system is public enemy number one.
It gives clear-as-day-light answer to the question: 台北地檢署為什麼不法辦重罪犯李慶安？ Because she is a KMT person.