A "Self-Representation" Trial Destined to Be a Joke

After being indicted, Huang Shih-ming stubbornly insisted on continuing to work as if nothing had happened, accusing the Taipei District Prosecutors Office of indicting him under "pressure" and implying he was framed by malicious actors. Like him, the general public continues to eat and sleep normally unaffected, and many do not believe a court judgment can clear his name. Yet, he still refuses to step down.

Whether he is clinging to power and position, I do not know; but I do know that after Premier Chiang Yi-huah conveyed the President's decree demanding his resignation, Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu gloomily left office at the fastest possible speed. Before stepping down, he had no opportunity to defend himself and confront his accusers, let alone hear with his own ears the crucial audio recordings involving lobbying, and could only rely on transcripts with multiple possible interpretations from the Special Investigation Division's press release. This stands in stark contrast to the "due process of law" protection enjoyed by Huang Shih-ming! Having been summoned by prosecutors and given the opportunity to rebut, along with the most powerful two people in Taiwan—President Ma and Premier Chiang—personally taking the field ("yu-chia ch'in-cheng") to provide unfavorable testimony, he can also review the case files after indictment and have the opportunity to find out who exactly pressured the prosecutors to indict him.

Due process of law is actually not some profound philosophy; it is simply the very unpretentious legal intuition of the people: putting aside preconceived factual judgments, one first examines how the evidence used by the state to make its judgment was obtained, and whether it is procedurally illegal and unfair. I believe this is also why President Ma, even when righteously and sternly accusing Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng of involvement in lobbying, with every three sentences mentioning the defense of judicial independence—though his cause was righteous—suffered an untimely defeat. This is because both the violations of the constitutional system and procedural justice raise major question marks.

Insisting on Not Stepping Down Violates Due Process in Litigation

Interestingly, Huang Shih-ming still stated that he would step down as soon as he is found guilty in the first instance. Outside observers believe he is following the standard set by former President Chen Shui-bian, but that was Wu Shu-jen being indicted, not Chen Shui-bian. On the contrary, President Ma himself—who nominated Huang Shih-ming—was indicted by a prosecutor for corruption in 2007, and he resigned as Chairman of the Kuomintang that very day before announcing his run for the presidency. I truly wonder what President Ma thinks when he sees this: instead of comparing himself to someone with "high moral standards," he compares himself to Chen Shui-bian, who has no relation whatsoever?

The public does not know how much power the Prosecutor-General holds, including President Ma, which is why they eat and sleep normally without feeling anything. The Prosecutor-General is the head of the national prosecutorial system. Based on the "principle of prosecutorial unity," he can direct and supervise any case under investigation by any prosecutor nationwide, including chief prosecutors (if chief prosecutors still handle cases), rather than just being a king hiding inside the Special Investigation Division. This is why Huang Shih-ming dared to arrogantly state in the Legislative Yuan that even without the Special Investigation Division, he is still the Prosecutor-General!

In short, Huang Shih-ming can not only instruct how a case should be handled, including indictment or non-indictment; if a prosecutor disobeys him, he can even take the case back from the prosecutor's hands to investigate it himself, or assign it to someone else. This is the so-called "power of taking over and transferring official duties" (Article 64 of the Court Organization Act).

The Absurdity of "Self-Representation"

When Huang Shih-ming later steps into the defendant's seat, as long as he remains Prosecutor-General, he can nitpick the public prosecutors accusing him in court, or even bypass the Chief Prosecutor of the Taipei District Prosecutors Office to directly designate a public prosecutor of his own "liking." Whenever he is dissatisfied with the process of evidence investigation in court, he can immediately replace and assign other prosecutors to execute the public prosecution. Therefore, what we will see in court in the future is "Huang Shih-ming executing public prosecution against Huang Shih-ming," a textbook example of "self-representation," violating the principle of recusal and striking at the core of the due process principle. Furthermore, even at the very first court hearing, the Prosecutor-General can instruct the public prosecutor to "withdraw the indictment," without even needing to wait for an acquittal in the first instance. Before the court renders a judgment, Huang Shih-ming can withdraw the indictment against himself, transforming overnight into a defendant receiving a disposition of non-prosecution (withdrawing an indictment is deemed equivalent to non-prosecution). How could there ever be any possibility of stepping down upon a guilty verdict?

The Prosecutor-General who controls the prosecutors is the defendant. No matter how hard prosecutors try, no one will believe this is a legitimate and due process. A hand that obeys the brain cannot smash its own brain. "If this is not lobbying, what is lobbying?" Foreseeing this judicial case of "institutionalized lobbying" that proclaims justice while manipulating and abusing power, can President Ma and the people still eat and sleep normally, unaffected, just like Huang Shih-ming?