Chen Shuibian (middle). (Picture source: Taiwan's "Zhongshi News Network")
Recently, the news that Tsai Ing wen may "pardon" Chen Shuibian before leaving office has been widely spread, and it is said that "supporting facilities have been developed". Only two weeks before Tsai Ing wen stepped down, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) released the news at this time. I am afraid it is not groundless, but measuring the wind direction.
Chen Shui bian, who left office as a leader of Taiwan in 2008, was detained by the Taipei District Court on November 12 of the same year on suspicion of serious crimes such as official confidential fees and money laundering. Later, he was sentenced to 20 years for land purchase in Longtan, becoming the first outgoing leader in Taiwan to be jailed for corruption. After serving his sentence, he has been "released on parole" since 2015 due to the so-called dementia, Parkinson's disease, urinary incontinence and other health problems.
Out of prison, Chen Shuibian ignored the red line of "no stage, no speech, no interview, no talk about politics" set by the prison in Taiwan. He assisted in selecting, making speeches, attending dinners, hosting programs, and opened social accounts for himself, frequently "pointing the country". In May last year, his son Chen Zhizhong was sentenced to prison for money laundering. Chen Shuibian also traveled north and south to petition for his son and to defend his daughter's case.
Although he is clearly the one to be punished, Chen Shuibian has long been regarded as a free person, and can be called "the freest prisoner in Taiwan". Chen Shuibian, who was guilty and carefree, gave Taiwan society what privileges it was, created a very bad social perception, and seriously intensified the social antagonism in the island.
Over the years, the issue of "pardon of the president of the Democratic Progressive Party" has been raised several times in the Democratic Progressive Party, but in the face of huge social disputes, it never came to an end. In the face of Tsai Ing wen's desire to exercise her last power to give Chen Shui bian a big favor, some people said that Tsai's move was to repair the rift with Dark Green, establish her political position in the Democratic Progressive Party at one stroke, balance Tsai Lai's voice in Dark Green, and in the future, Tsai Lai will compete, and Dark Green may not fully support Lai Qingde. To put it bluntly, it is still factional struggle and interest consideration.
However, even though the Green Camp has come up with various tricks, the issue of "pardon the Bian" has no legitimacy and is difficult to convince the public.
First, Chen Shuibian never pleaded guilty. How can I say "amnesty" when I have not confessed my guilt? If he can be "pardoned" for taking bribes of more than one billion yuan, which has caused huge negative impact on Taiwan society, can other embezzlers be handled in the same way? The DPP has always been called a "corrupt party" in the island, so it may be true that it is "quite corrupt".
Moreover, the corruption crime committed by Chen Shuibian has been decided by the Taiwan court. Tsai Ing wen's so-called "amnesty", which clearly means interfering with the so-called "judicial" judgments with political power to make politics override the law, is not telling the outside world that in Taiwan, everyone is not equal before the law, but the privileged are superior? If the privileged can overthrow the law at will, who will believe in the law in Taiwan society in the future?
With regard to the "pardon of Bian", the news released by the Green Camp pointed out that it would apply for the confiscation of the illegal gains of NT $1.1 billion that had been seized by Bian's family to reduce the social impact. It sounds like a situation of "the Bian family has made contributions to the society by handing over these money", which is extremely absurd.
Over the past nine years, Chen Shuibian has been "lying down and walking" in front of the whole Taiwan people, and how to trample on the law has become unbearable for Taiwan society. If Tsai Ing wen challenges the bottom line of social morality when she leaves office and insists on "amnesty" for Chen Shui bian, it is bound to cause a huge rebound among the public and further tear Taiwan society apart. (Wen/Wang Dongnan)
