Letters

No Sacrifice of Taiwan

I would like to rectify a number of misconceptions in Michael Fonte's essay "The DPP Calls for Round Two" published in the October 2009 issue. Firstly, charges of a political vendetta against the DPP are utterly unfounded. The Special Investigation Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, which conducted investigations of and ultimately indicted and prosecuted former President Chen Shui-bian, was established during his presidency, and the prosecutor-general who oversaw the SID was appointed by Mr. Chen himself. The SID waited until Mr. Chen's presidential term expired to initiate the prosecutorial action against him only because a sitting president is constitutionally immune from prosecution.

Freedom of person is guaranteed under the R.O.C. Constitution, and detention can be carried out only in accordance with Article 101 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Prosecutors must file a motion for detention with a court of law, which then must conduct a hearing. The detention of Mr. Chen is the result of such due process. As to the skit performed by government employees at a dinner organized by the Ministry of Justice celebrating Law Day in 2008, the ministry had no prior knowledge of the skit, and has warned its employees to refrain from such behavior.

Regarding reform of the Assembly and Parade Act, the Executive Yuan (Cabinet) on Dec. 4, 2008 approved a draft revision of the act and forwarded it to the Legislative Yuan for review. The main feature of the draft-scrapping of the requirement to obtain permission for public demonstrations, and requiring only simple notification of planned demonstrations-is in line with proposals of reform advocates.

There is no need for a temporary special commission to investigate the clashes between police and demonstrators that occurred during the November 2008 visit of Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait. The R.O.C. has a permanent branch of government expressly mandated to independently investigate allegations of official malfeasance, and it has indeed been independently investigating the November 2008 clashes.

As for the disaster inflicted by Typhoon Morakot, President Ma is deeply grieved at the suffering and loss of lives, and has pledged that our government will carefully assess and take full responsibility for its policies and actions. In response to the numerous generous offers of humanitarian aid that poured in from around the world, we immediately set up a dedicated bank account to facilitate donations and, once we had ascertained which sorts of practical assistance would be helpful, we made this known to governmental and nongovernmental organizations, which cooperated in a timely manner. We did not reject any foreign humanitarian aid offered to us.

The main purposes of our government's negotiating an economic cooperation framework agreement with mainland China are to maintain the competitiveness of our businesses in the mainland market, boost our foreign trade, and reduce the risk of Taiwan's being marginalized. It concerns only the economy and has nothing to do with sovereignty or political issues. There is thus no need for ratification by means of a national referendum.

We will do our best to ensure that traditional, less competitive industries in Taiwan are not included in the "early harvest" list of tariff-free goods. The 834 agricultural products from Taiwan that are currently protected will not be exposed to tariff-free competition. Although the Ma administration has been making efforts to reduce cross-Strait acrimony and regional tensions, it has no intention of bending to mainland China's will at the cost of Taiwan's interests.

In democratic countries, the transfer of power from one ruling party to another is a routine matter. All political parties in Taiwan should endeavor to interact in a spirit of healthy competition with the aim of giving our all for the welfare of this land.

Su Jun-pin
Minister
Government Information Office
Republic of China (Taiwan)

Regarding Taiwan government Information Minister Su Jun-pin's letter in the November issue responding to my September essay "Behind the Dalai Lama's Taiwan Visit," it's encouraging to hear that Taiwan's democratically elected government did not come to terms with Beijing over the limits placed on the Dalai Lama's controversial visit in September. Yet I know no one who thought it "preposterous" that they might have done so, including a number of international scholars.

Beijing's intense opposition to the visit provoked concern in Taipei that it would disrupt ongoing negotiations on agreements that were high priorities for the government of President Ma Ying-jeou. Hence a lengthy meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the matter. The China Daily commented at the time that the Tibetan leader's visit was a "lose-lose" for both sides.

The report by the Kyodo News Service, mentioned by Minister Su, cited a credible source who was an adviser to former President Lee Teng-hui. The Kuomintang, Taiwan's ruling party, also dispatched an emissary to Beijing to gain "understanding" for Taipei's decision to let the visit go ahead. In view of many other instances of accommodating China during the past year, Minister Su's assurance that they did not do so in this case is most welcome.

On the response to Typhoon Morakot, the adequacy of the government's emergency measures is still being debated. The question, however, is not one of legalities but of timely action. Yes, President Ma insisted that the Disaster Prevention and Response Act of 2000 was adequate to the rescue efforts and that an emergency decree was unnecessary. But this view has since been questioned, even by ruling party legislators. The assertion that underresourced local governments should bear the main responsibility as first-responders is especially contentious. Only the president can mobilize the military, and his leadership to rouse the bureaucracy is essential.

To be sure, Morakot was a severe test of crisis response measures. But in their extended apologies to the public, President Ma and his top officials acknowledged they could have done a better job and vowed to do better in the future.

That Taiwan's civil liberties and democratic rights have eroded during the past year is a conclusion drawn by many international observers. Both Freedom House and Reporters without Borders have significantly downgraded Taiwan's standing in their annual reports.

Julian Baum
Washington, D.C.