台灣司法腐蝕中 國際學者致函馬總統關切

前美國在台協會理事主席白樂崎等國際學者、作家再度發表給馬英九總統的公開信，關切陳雲林來台期間警方執行職務時侵害人權的狀況、前總統陳水扁的司法人權、媒體報導違反偵查期間案情不公開原則等等。

來源：台北時報2009年1月21日。中文翻譯轉錄自「與媒體對抗國際新聞版」：http://www.socialforce.net/phpBB/post_747360.html#747360。

 

【外電】腐蝕中的司法：第3封公開信

親愛的馬總統：

我們這些來自美國、加拿大、歐洲、和澳洲的學者和作家，認為自己是民主台灣的長期支持者。我們簽名背書這封信是為了表示我們對過去幾個月中台灣的司法體制被腐蝕的關注。

在此之前我們已經兩次對王清峰司法部長公開的表示了我們的關切，然而部長的答覆令人擔憂﹔部長始終不願意承認有任何的問題，並否認司法的程序是有瑕疵而且 是不公平的。我們對總統提出的關切，深信您會將此視為擁護台灣民主的國際友人提供的諮詢意見，我們深切的關心這個國家以及台灣作為一個自由和民主國家的未 來。

首先，我們希望可以提出以下這個事實﹕您的政府尚未對自由之家和國際特赦組織的建議採取任何行動，也就是對中國特使陳雲林的訪問事件進行獨立的調查 ，特別是警察的行為和對基本自由的侵犯。唯有建立嚴格而中立的委員會，才有可能由陳雲林訪問期間所發生的騷亂事件中得到公平客觀的結論。

第二，我們也對陳水扁前總統案件的法律程序感到不安 。他的案子首先由三個法官組成的法院在12月13日裁定當庭釋放，後來轉到另一個法庭又在12月25日(當天是聖誕節也是行憲紀念日)羈押他，這個轉變似 乎是來自於立法院國民黨籍立委的政治壓力而造成的。孔傑榮教授在2009年1月8日南華早報的評論中，已詳細的描述這種政治干涉司法系統的現象，而美聯社 在1月4日也把發生的過程給了精闢的見解。

第三，我們對大規模的向媒體洩露正在調查中案件的訊息也深感憂慮，特別是因為從內容和性質來看，這些洩漏只能來自檢察官辦公室。正如美聯社2009年1月 4日的報導，台灣著名的觀察家們，例如國立台灣大學教授王業立，指控這些洩漏是來自檢察官，在陳的案件中他們「一貫性的違反了調查進行期間應保護案情細節 的原則」。

這樣的行為模式顯示了司法體系明顯的偏見，以及對公平和正當程序的漠視。

而當一批檢察官以短劇來諷刺被他們起訴的人，他們對司法專業水準的不重視已經達到了新低點。更讓我們感到不安的是王部長對此的辯護是，那只是「為了好玩」。

新聞的通訊社引用部長說的話： 「這只是一個舞台劇來幫助大家放鬆的。沒有理由把它看得太嚴重。 」

我們認為，檢察官的行為和王部長的意見顯示他們缺乏司法的專業和政治中立的態度。

我們在此重申任何涉嫌腐敗的案件都必須被調查，而且被告如果經過嚴格公正的審判過程而被判定有罪，他們應該在審判後得到公正的懲罰。因此，我們要強調的是 司法系統的政治中立，是一個民主社會的基本要素。上面提到的例子，已經顯現出調查的過程已經達到聳人聽聞的程度﹔無論被告獲得公平審判的權利，和無罪推定 的原則都已經受到嚴重的損害。法治化的司法是台灣要鞏固民主和保護基本人權不可缺少的。

除了這些被告已經被傷害以外，台灣的國際形象也已受損。一個國家的總統對部下的行為是負有政治責任的，因此，我們敦促您立即採取決定性的行動，來糾正這些程序中嚴重的缺失﹔它已經玷污了國家的榮譽，也許已經是無法彌補了。

台灣的司法體系不僅必須做到不容懷疑，更不可以涉嫌偏袒和政治偏見。我們呼籲總統先生您，恢復台灣司法系統的信譽，並確保您的政府、司法部門、和國會機構能夠保障民主、人權、和言論自由，因為這些是台灣人過去二十年來非常艱苦努力才得到的。

恭敬的，

Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎 〔前美國在台協會主席〕
Coen Blaauw ﹝華盛頓FAPA ﹞
Stphane Corcuff﹝法國里昂大學「中國和台灣研究」政治學副教授﹞
Gordon G. Chang ﹝「即將崩潰的中國 」作者﹞
David Curtis Wright ﹝加拿大Calgary 大學歷史系副教授﹞
June Teufel Dreyer ﹝邁阿密大學政治學教授﹞
Edward Friedman ﹝威斯康辛大學政治學和東亞研究教授﹞
Mark Harrison﹝澳洲Tasmania大學資深講師華語研究主任﹞
Bruce Jacobs ﹝澳洲蒙納許大學亞洲語言和研究教授﹞
Richard C. Kagan ﹝翰林大學教授，「台灣的政治家，李登輝和亞洲的民主」的作者﹞
Jerome F. Keating ﹝國立台北大學副教授（已退休），"Island in the Stream, a quick case study of Taiwan’s complex history"的 作者﹞
Hon. David Kilgour ﹝加拿大 前國會議員和亞太國務秘書﹞
Victor H. Mair ﹝美國賓夕法尼亞大學教授﹞
Donald Rodgers ﹝奧斯汀大學政治學副教授 ﹞
Terence Russell ﹝加拿大Manitoba大學教授﹞
Christian Schafferer ﹝副教授，國際貿易，海外華人華僑理工學院，奧地利協會東亞研究主席，主編「當代東亞」﹞
Michael Stainton ﹝加拿大多倫多York Center for Asia Research﹞
Peter Tague ﹝美國DC喬治城大學法律系教授﹞
譚慎格 ﹝美國傳統基金會高級研究員﹞
Arthur Waldron ﹝美國賓夕法尼亞大學教授﹞
Vincent Wei-cheng Wang ﹝美國里奇蒙大學教授﹞
Gerrit van der Wees ﹝台灣公報編輯﹞
Stephen Yates葉望輝 ﹝前美國副總統亞洲政策顧問﹞
Terri Giles ﹝洛杉磯福爾摩沙基金會執行主任﹞
Daniel Lynch﹝美國南加大國際關係學院副教授 ﹞

轉錄自：Taipei Times , Wednesday, Jan 21, 2009, Page 8

Eroding justice: Open letter No. 3 

DEAR PRESIDENT MA

We the undersigned, scholars and writers from the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, consider ourselves long-time supporters of a democratic Taiwan. We write to express our concern regarding the erosion of the judicial system in Taiwan during the past few months.

On two previous occasions we have publicly expressed our concerns to Justice Minister Wang Ching-feng (王清峰), but the minister’s responses are troubling in their persistent failure to acknowledge that there even is a problem, and in their attitude of denial that the judicial process is flawed and partial. We trust that our raising our concerns with you as president will be treated as advice from international supporters of Taiwan’s democracy who care deeply about the country and its future as a free and democratic nation.

First we may mention the fact that your administration has not yet acted upon recommendations — made both by Freedom House and Amnesty International — to conduct an independent inquiry into the events surrounding the visit of Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), and in particular the police behavior and infringements on basic freedoms. The establishment of a scrupulously neutral commission is essential if there is to be a fair and objective conclusion on the disturbances that occurred during the Chen Yunlin visit.

Second, we are concerned about the legal proceedings in the case of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). The switch of the case from a three-panel court that released him on his own cognizance on Dec. 13 to a court that subsequently re-incarcerated him on Dec. 25 — both Christmas Day and Constitution Day — seems to have resulted from political pressure from KMT members of the Legislative Yuan. In his commentary in the South China Morning Post of Jan. 8, 2009, professor Jerome Cohen presented details of such political interference in the judicial system, while The Associated Press on Jan. 4 also gave incisive insights in the process that took place.

Third, we are deeply concerned by the widespread pattern of leaks to the media regarding ongoing cases — leaks which because of their content and nature can only have come from the prosecutors’ offices. As was reported by The Associated Press on Jan. 4, 2009, prominent observers in Taiwan such as professor Wang Yeh-lih of National Taiwan University charge that these leaks come from prosecutors who “consistently violated the principle of guarding the details of investigations during the Chen case.”

This pattern of behavior displays a distinct bias in the judicial system and a disregard for fair and impartial processes.

The lack of attention to professional judicial standards reached a new low with the skit by several prosecutors who satirized those whom they are prosecuting. We are disturbed by Minister Wang’s defending this as “just for fun.”

Press agencies quote the minister as saying: “It was just a play to help everybody relax. There’s no reason to take it too seriously.”

In our view the actions by the prosecutors and the comment by Minister Wang display a lack of judicial professionalism and political neutrality.

We reiterate that any cases of alleged corruption must be investigated, and that if the defendants are found guilty in a scrupulously impartial process, they should receive just punishment after trial. We thus emphasize that the political neutrality of the judicial system is a fundamental element in a democracy. The examples mentioned above indicate that the investigative process has been conducted and sensationalized to the extent that both the right of the accused to a fair trial, and the presumption of innocence have been seriously jeopardized. Justice through the rule of law is essential to Taiwan’s efforts to consolidate democracy and protect fundamental human rights.

In addition to the harm done to the personas of those accused, the international image of Taiwan has suffered. A president of a country bears political responsibility for the conduct of his subordinates’ actions, and we therefore urge immediate and decisive action to correct the severe flaws in the process that are staining the national honor, perhaps irreparably.

Taiwan’s judicial system must be not only above suspicion but even above the appearance of suspicion of partiality and political bias. We appeal to you, Mr President, to restore the credibility of the judicial system in Taiwan and ensure that your government and its judiciary and parliamentary institutions safeguard the full democracy, human rights and freedom of expression, for which the Taiwanese people have worked so hard during the past two decades.

Respectfully yours,

Nat Bellocchi,

former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan

Coen Blaauw

Formosan Association for Public Affairs, Washington DC

Stéphane Corcuff

Associate Professor of Political Science, China and Taiwan Studies, University of Lyon, France

Gordon G. Chang

author, “The Coming Collapse of China”

David Curtis Wright

Associate Professor of History, University of Calgary

June Teufel Dreyer

Professor of Political Science, University of Miami, Florida

Edward Friedman

Professor of Political Science and East Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Mark Harrison

Senior Lecturer, Head of the Chinese School of Asian Languages and Studies, University of Tasmania, Australia

Bruce Jacobs

Professor of Asian Languages and Studies, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

Richard C. Kagan

Professor Emeritus of History, Hamline University, St Paul Minnesota. Author, “Taiwan’s Statesman, Lee Teng-hui and Democracy in Asia” and other works on Taiwan

Jerome F. Keating

Associate Professor, National Taipei University (Ret.). Author, “Island in the Stream, a quick case study of Taiwan’s complex history” and other works on Taiwan’s history

Hon. David Kilgour

former Member Parliament and Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific, Canada

Victor H. Mair

Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania

Donald Rodgers

Associate Professor of Political Science, Austin College, Texas

Terence Russell

Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Manitoba, Canada

Christian Schafferer

Associate Professor, Department of International Trade, Overseas Chinese Institute of Technology, Chair Austrian Association of East Asian Studies, Editor “Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia”

Michael Stainton

York Center for Asia Research, Toronto, Canada

Peter Tague

Professor of Law, Georgetown University, Washington DC

John J. Tkacik Jr

former Senior Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation, Washington DC

Arthur Waldron

Lauder Professor of International Relations, University of Pennsylvania

Vincent Wei-cheng Wang

Professor of Political Science, University of Richmond, Virginia

Gerrit van der Wees

Editor Taiwan Communique, Washington DC

Stephen Yates

President of DC Asia Advisory and former deputy assistant to the vice president for National Security Affairs

Terri Giles

Executive Director, Formosa Foundation, Los Angeles

Daniel Lynch

Associate Professor, School of International Relations, University of Southern California