Have the Courts of Law Truly Become Owned by the DPP?

  Have the Courts of Law Truly Become Owned by the DPP?

 China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)

March 15, 2017

Translation of an Except

Former President Ma Ying-jeou was indicted on charges of instigating the leak of secrets and violating the protection of communication, eliciting disputes in society. One of the main disputes is whether Ma Ying-jeou’s indictment is related to the changing hue of the prosecutorial agencies after the DPP coming to power. In other words, it is a question of whether "after the DPP came to power, have the courts of justice become owned by the DPP?" The second main dispute is what the subject of the secret involved in the secret-leaking case is. A legislator was not guilty when he lobbied a prosecutor; while Ma Ying-jeou was considered to have committed an offense for listening to a report on the lobbying case. That is why Ma Ying-jeou was totally dissatisfied and unconvinced that "if lobbying is okay, than where is justice?" Whether the prosecutor’s indictment brings forth a question over the disequilibrium of the pursuit of criminal prosecution merits meticulous and careful consideration.

We have to first of all understand the origin and background of Ma Ying-jeou’s indictment. This prosecution itself is a legal case, but involves many factors, such as politics and emotionalism. Undeniably, with regard to the fact that DPP-affiliated President Chen Shui-bian was entangled in prosecutions and trials after stepping down, many pro-Green figures in Taiwan have all along believed that it was the KMT’s act of persecution by utilizing the pursuit by criminal justice of a ruling party. For this reason, after the DPP came to power, it wanted to condemn KMT-affiliated President Ma Ying-jeou to prison.

However, the cases involving the two former presidents were completely incomparable. Chen Shui-bian involved cases of corruption; Ma Ying-jeou has been indicted for leaking secrets. Illicit gains amounting to hundreds of millions were evidence of corruption; Ma Ying-jeou's case does not involve money, only involving issues of Ma Ying-jeou’s personal perception of the Presidential powers and perceptions of the law. Between the two, the blame from society varies enormously. If the Green camp wants to turn Ma Ying-jeou's case into another "Chen Shui-bian case," it lacks legitimacy and is immoral.

We all know that the title of this editorial-- "Have the Courts of Law Truly Become Owned by the DPP?"-- is not entirely fair; however, in order to allay misgivings of society and underscore social justice, we cannot but use this title. The National Affairs Conference on judicial reform should place anti-lobbying as an important issue on its agenda, studying norms of discipline governing judges in restricting lobbying, and instituting "offenses for hampering fairness in justice." The annual budget for prosecutorial agencies should not be subject to Legislative review; chief prosecutors at various levels should be exempt from interpellations in the Legislative Yuan. Civic groups should advise and prod the Legislative Yuan to enact laws for the purpose of preventing judicial lobbying.

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