Presidential Disclosures Shatter a Decade of Judicial Reform

While investigating the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT) corruption scandal, prosecutors and investigators have recently stepped up their pace after lagging behind, leading the media to shift from earlier criticism and mockery to affirming that they finally appear to be "playing for real." Meanwhile, reports indicated that President A-bien went to Taichung County to campaign, and regarding the ongoing "deep throat" leaks in the KMRT case, made disclosures stating: "There are prosecutorial and investigative personnel colluding with legislators to repeatedly leak information to the outside," and "There are even prosecutorial and investigative personnel tipping off candidates and subsequently accepting remuneration from them." He strongly rebuked investigators for violating the principle of non-publicity of investigations, among other criticisms.

On one hand, President A-bien solemnly declared that he was not involved in the KMRT scandal and pledged his support for an uncompromised investigation, where the probe follows the evidence wherever it leads. On the other hand, however, he harshly criticized investigative personnel for "colluding" with legislators to leak secrets, which is staggering.

Of course, logically speaking, the President supporting prosecutors and investigators in independently investigating the KMRT scandal and the President questioning them for violating the principle of non-disclosure investigations can be two different matters, and there is no obvious contradiction in stance. The problem lies in the fact that, given the supreme dignity of the presidency, when campaigning for others, making unnamed criticisms of investigative personnel for "colluding" with legislators to leak secrets regarding a case under active investigation inevitably leads people to suspect that the President is openly interfering in investigative actions for the selfish interests of his own party—playing a double game of "patting the head with one hand while spanking with the other." Despite proclaiming that the judiciary is not dead and vowing to commit to reform and eliminate unfit personnel, such irresponsible and arbitrary "disclosures" risk shattering in a single day the painstaking efforts made by the ruling and opposition parties over the past decade toward judicial reform.

President A-bien has a legal background and was once an outstanding attorney. He should all the more understand the boundaries between the executive and the judicial branches, and maintaining silence on cases currently in progress is the best strategy, rather than blindly falling into the myth that attack is the best defense. If there is concrete evidence that investigative personnel leaked secrets or even accepted bribes in the KMRT case, then it should simply be handed over to the judiciary to handle; why engage in grandiose and excessive rhetoric? Should the eventual judicial investigation reveal no such thing as prosecutors and investigators "colluding" with legislators, how will Mr. President answer for it?

President A-bien's disclosures are not a single isolated incident. His previous summons of the Prosecutor-General to understand the progress of an individual case already violated the cardinal taboo of interfering in the judiciary, and for the Prosecutor-General to actually comply and report was astonishing and inconceivable. It is no wonder that civil society strongly opposed that appointment of the Prosecutor-General back then, while President A-bien seemed to turn a deaf ear and paid it no mind.

President A-bien personally traveled to the Hualien District Prosecutors Office in the past to testify in the "chiefs' allowance" case, which was regarded as an exemplary display of respect for the judiciary. Yet today, back on the campaign trail, he turns around to disparage Prosecutor Lee Tzu-chun (李子春), claiming that she "made me stand for two hours" and that "prosecutors do this just for the thrill." Such an inconsistent and disrespectful attitude makes people feel that the President merely wore the superficial guise of respecting the judiciary at the time, while in reality manipulating it, instrumentalizing the judiciary into election theater. There is no greater contempt for the judiciary than this.

This prompts one to ask: Mr. President, are you "playing for real" with judicial reform, or are you "just playing"?

※ Published in: United Daily News / People's Forum