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Thursday, 13 November 2008
Muted cry after ‘Son of Taiwan’ handcuffed
From the “Son of Taiwan” to the “Shame of Taiwan”, former president Chen Shui-bian, whose arrest has drawn international attention, was once seen as a hero who had risen from poverty, but now has fallen in disgrace.
From the “Son of Taiwan” to the “Shame of Taiwan”, former president Chen Shui-bian, whose arrest has drawn international attention, was once seen as a hero who had risen from poverty, but now has fallen in disgrace.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) he co-founded in 1986 has greeted the news with ambivalence.
While all DPP bigwigs lashed out at mainland-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou and the judiciary for handcuffing Mr. Chen even before he was officially charged, most were reluctant to vouch for his integrity.
“The hearts of all 23 million Taiwanese people were bleeding the minute all of us saw he was handcuffed in public,” said former vice-president Annette Lu Hsiu-lien.
Mr. Chen was seen on television raising the handcuffs high on Tuesday to protest against his treatment by prosecutors. He said it was evidence of “political persecution” by Mr. Ma.
Mr. Chen was formally arrested and detained in the morning after 11 hours of deliberations by three judges of the Taipei District Court. They decided to place Mr. Chen under custody for alleged embezzlement, bribe-taking and money laundering. His detention was requested on Tuesday by prosecutors who feared Mr. Chen could tamper with evidence if free.
Ms Lu said the Ma government would pay dearly for failing to protect Mr. Chen’s rights by handcuffing him even before he was indicted. Tainan county Magistrate Su Huan-chih said that it was highly improper for the judiciary to handcuff Mr. Chen before he had been indicted.
DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen also questioned how Mr. Chen was treated. The Ma government should act with decorum towards Mr. Chen because he had been president, she said. She also criticised the judiciary for revealing to journalists part of their findings in connection with the alleged corruption linking Mr. Chen, because it violated the principle that details of cases under investigation should not be made public.
“This is highly unfair to the ex-president and President Ma should take full responsibility for permitting this to happen,” she said.
She also said handcuffing Mr. Chen would insult his supporters and intensify political divides. Save for hard-core members, leading DPP figures have yet to step forward, however, to defend Mr. Chen’s honour.
President Ma yesterday expressed his feeling about the arrest, saying all people should refrain from celebrating the situation.
The man who would later be called the “Son of Taiwan” was born into a poor rural family in the southern county of Tainan.
He went on to train as a lawyer, entering politics when he defended former dissident Huang Hsin-chieh in 1979. He was elected Taipei city councilor two years later. In 1987, he was elected a legislator and was lauded for his scrutiny of wrongdoings by the then Kuomintang government and officials.
He became mayor of Taipei in 1994, and again won praise for his performance, although Mr. Ma was still able to defeat him when he ran for re-election four years later. Mr. Chen became president in 2000, taking power from the KMT.
His wife was embroiled in a scandal involving a fight for control of a Sogo department store in 2004. His chief aide Chen Che-nan was charged with corruption in a rapid transit project in Kaohsiung. His son-in-law was charged with insider trading in 2006. His wife was also charged with embezzlement of secret state funds the same year.
In his final two years in office, Mr. Chen faced constant protests over perceived graft involving him, his family and government.
Former DPP legislator Lin Cheng-chieh yesterday lamented the downfall of Mr. Chen. “He was once a whistle-blower like Chiu Yi.”
Mr. Chiu, a KMT legislator known for his efforts to highlight official irregularities, yesterday said he felt sullen over Mr. Chen’s arrest.
1 comment:
Muted cry after ‘Son of Taiwan’ handcuffed
Most DPP leaders quiet over incident
Lawrence Chung in Taipei
13 November 2008
From the “Son of Taiwan” to the “Shame of Taiwan”, former president Chen Shui-bian, whose arrest has drawn international attention, was once seen as a hero who had risen from poverty, but now has fallen in disgrace.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) he co-founded in 1986 has greeted the news with ambivalence.
While all DPP bigwigs lashed out at mainland-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou and the judiciary for handcuffing Mr. Chen even before he was officially charged, most were reluctant to vouch for his integrity.
“The hearts of all 23 million Taiwanese people were bleeding the minute all of us saw he was handcuffed in public,” said former vice-president Annette Lu Hsiu-lien.
Mr. Chen was seen on television raising the handcuffs high on Tuesday to protest against his treatment by prosecutors. He said it was evidence of “political persecution” by Mr. Ma.
Mr. Chen was formally arrested and detained in the morning after 11 hours of deliberations by three judges of the Taipei District Court. They decided to place Mr. Chen under custody for alleged embezzlement, bribe-taking and money laundering. His detention was requested on Tuesday by prosecutors who feared Mr. Chen could tamper with evidence if free.
Ms Lu said the Ma government would pay dearly for failing to protect Mr. Chen’s rights by handcuffing him even before he was indicted. Tainan county Magistrate Su Huan-chih said that it was highly improper for the judiciary to handcuff Mr. Chen before he had been indicted.
DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen also questioned how Mr. Chen was treated. The Ma government should act with decorum towards Mr. Chen because he had been president, she said. She also criticised the judiciary for revealing to journalists part of their findings in connection with the alleged corruption linking Mr. Chen, because it violated the principle that details of cases under investigation should not be made public.
“This is highly unfair to the ex-president and President Ma should take full responsibility for permitting this to happen,” she said.
She also said handcuffing Mr. Chen would insult his supporters and intensify political divides. Save for hard-core members, leading DPP figures have yet to step forward, however, to defend Mr. Chen’s honour.
President Ma yesterday expressed his feeling about the arrest, saying all people should refrain from celebrating the situation.
The man who would later be called the “Son of Taiwan” was born into a poor rural family in the southern county of Tainan.
He went on to train as a lawyer, entering politics when he defended former dissident Huang Hsin-chieh in 1979. He was elected Taipei city councilor two years later. In 1987, he was elected a legislator and was lauded for his scrutiny of wrongdoings by the then Kuomintang government and officials.
He became mayor of Taipei in 1994, and again won praise for his performance, although Mr. Ma was still able to defeat him when he ran for re-election four years later. Mr. Chen became president in 2000, taking power from the KMT.
His wife was embroiled in a scandal involving a fight for control of a Sogo department store in 2004. His chief aide Chen Che-nan was charged with corruption in a rapid transit project in Kaohsiung. His son-in-law was charged with insider trading in 2006. His wife was also charged with embezzlement of secret state funds the same year.
In his final two years in office, Mr. Chen faced constant protests over perceived graft involving him, his family and government.
Former DPP legislator Lin Cheng-chieh yesterday lamented the downfall of Mr. Chen. “He was once a whistle-blower like Chiu Yi.”
Mr. Chiu, a KMT legislator known for his efforts to highlight official irregularities, yesterday said he felt sullen over Mr. Chen’s arrest.
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