Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
In the course of mourning Chen, the sight of a string of celebrities, ne'er-
do-well politicians and retired security agency officials lining up to pay
their dues played itself out. Of the former, pop singer Jay Chou was the
most conspicuous, and he has gutted his reputation—and raised ques-
tions about who he owes and how much—by paying his respects. Chou
should be ashamed, but we are not sure if he has the depth of character
to feel it.
But it is the politicians—and their seniority—that should be of endur-
ing concern. How astonished and enraged Americans would be if
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined the organizing
committee for the funeral of a notorious mafia boss. Yet that is exactly
what has happened here: Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng of the
KMT blessed Chen by having his name added to the list of honorary
funeral officials. Again, one might ask, what does Wang owe, and to
whom?
The KMT, it seems, can't get by without cavorting with criminals.
But this is not a partisan cancer. Even more despicable is the presence
on the honorary list of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative
caucus convener Ko Chien-ming, who warrants expulsion from the party.
...
This easy association with criminality continues to plague the
legislature, too, with an attempt to restrict candidates for public office
to people with no criminal record or a minor criminal record being
defeated in recent days.
Both parties have acted shamefully and shamelessly on this matter.
President Chen Shui-bian, as chairman of the DPP, deserves censure
for not intervening to ensure that DPP support for the changes did not
eventuate.
And Wang Jin-pyng deserves an equally strong rebuke for blithely
dismissing this debacle as being unworthy of any concern
...
It is all too easy to say “a pox on all their houses” or some such, but
the fact is that all of this behavior is tolerated by a large number of voters
who will put any lowlife into office as long as it is not someone from
the opposition. Thus continues this collapsible morality in the face
of criminal connections to the political, security, and entertainment
establishments.
According to a high-ranking law enforcement official in Taiwan, the
reach and influence of organized crime on the island has recently
reached crisis proportions (Chin 2003, 13-14).
In November 1996 Taoyuan County Magistrate Liu Pang-yu was
murdered along with several other people, including his bodyguards,
in a mafia-style hit. The murders remain unsolved today. Newspaper
headlines screamed the story to the public, and the subsequent feeling
of dread and dismay throughout the island was palpable. Taiwan's
