How Much Longer must We tolerate such a Lawless Regime?

How Much Longer must We tolerate such a Lawless Regime?
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
October 18, 2007

Summary: This year's United Nations General Assembly has already adjourned. The "Join the UN under the Name Taiwan" movement, however, has not. In order to fight its way into the UN, the Democratic Progressive Party government has gone on full mobilization. Even private correspondence, electricity bills, and receipts for gasoline purchases have had "Join the UN" slogans stamped on them. Stamped "Join the UN" slogans have blotted out the sun, all for one purpose: to "package deal" the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's "Plebiscite to Join the UN" with the 2008 Presidential Election. Everyone, from local civil servants to the staff of state-owned enterprises, is required to fall in behind this "policy," to disregard laws mandating civil service neutrality, to disregard the free will of the people. What kind of a nation is this? What kind of a political party is this? From the moment the Democratic Progressive Party decided to package deal its "Plebiscite to Join the UN" with the 2008 Presidential Election, the island has been mired in an endless "Join the UN" nightmare. To paraphrased an expression coined by former US president Bill Clinton, and used by both the ruling and opposition parties to attack each other: "It's the plebiscite, stupid!"

Full Text below:

This year's United Nations General Assembly has already adjourned. The "Join the UN under the Name Taiwan" movement, however, has not. In order to fight its way into the UN, the Democratic Progressive Party government has gone on full mobilization. Even private correspondence, electricity bills, and receipts for gasoline purchases have had "Join the UN" slogans stamped on them. Stamped "Join the UN" slogans have blotted out the sun, all for one purpose: to "package deal" the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's "Plebiscite to Join the UN" with the 2008 Presidential Election. Everyone, from local civil servants to the staff of state-owned enterprises, is required to fall in behind this "policy," to disregard laws mandating civil service neutrality, to disregard the free will of the people. What kind of a nation is this? What kind of a political party is this?

The "Join the UN" stamp has provoked even foreigners living in Taiwan to ask, by what right can a private individual's personal correspondence be stamped with partisan political slogans, without his consent? The foreign language teacher, known only by his surname Talovich, expressed his feelings in the bluntest possible language. He said "he hoped that a democratic nation would be ruled by its people." Unfortunately, a Taiwan which has purportedly undergone democratic transformation, a "Quiet Revolution," still hasn't learned the meaning of "government of the people."

In response to criticisms of the "Join the UN" drive, a Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker argued that between 1982 and 1984, correspondence was stamped with postmarks such as "Unify China by means of Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principles," "End Appeasement," and "Overthrow Communist Tyranny." He complained of double standards. The Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker may not have been wrong about the facts, but that was 23 to 25 years ago. That era is known as the "Authoritarian Era." It was neither democratic nor open. Does a ruling party that boasts of being "democratic" and "progressive" really want to be measured according to the standards of an authoritarian regime 25 years ago?

When a government hands down a policy command, one must examine the nature of its command. "Rejoining the UN" was one of former president Lee Teng-hui's main policies. Did Lee Teng-hui or the Kuomintang government presume to instruct the China Postal Service to stamp private correspondence with the "Rejoin the UN" slogan? After the Democratic Progressive Party came to power, political slogans reappeared. In 2003 it stamped correspondence with "Unite to defeat SARS." At the time the nation was deep in depression, therefore the slogan might have had a inspirational effect. Another slogan was "Everyone must be a Solomon. Everyone must oppose vote buying." At least these were values everyone could stand behind.

Does the "Join the UN" movement represent values everyone stands behind? Judging by opinion polls, over 7/10th of the public supports UN membership. But this includes both the "Plebiscite to Join the UN under the Name Taiwan" and the "Rejoin the UN under the Name Republic of China." The Democratic Progressive Party government mobilized every level of government in an effort to ensure unquestioning obedience to "government policy." Nevertheless under intense questioning by the political opposition in the Legislative Yuan, officials openly criticized the government's lack of administrative neutrality and illegal use of funds. When the nation's highest representative body questions the government's methods, how can the government assume that whatever it feels like doing constitutes "policy?"

Stamping all these letters, utility bills, and sales receipts costs time and money. Yet the Government Information Office claims this "Join the UN" campaign won't cost anyone one thin dime. Its reasoning is that since each entity is absorbing the costs, the expenses incurred by various government agencies and state owned enterprises are somehow not being borne by the taxpayers! If that isn't outrageous enough, the Government Information Office went even further. It issued written and oral "requests" that broadcast and cable television networks "contribute free air time for public service messages." It demanded that television networks broadcast outside two "Join the UN" commercials produced by outside agencies. It has already taken a bite out of private enterprise. Year end license renewals are coming up. What television network is going to say no to the government? What kind of government considers naked threats and undisguised bribes "policy?"

Are "Join the UN" commercials public service messages? When President Chen Shui-bian visited the South Pacific he declared that his election theme would be the "Join the UN" issue. The Democratic Progressive Party has "linked" the "Plebiscite to Join the UN" to the election from Day One. After Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh ended his 13 day seclusion, the first thing he did was change the theme of his election campaign from an "Economy of Affluence" to a drive to "Join the UN." The United Nations General Assembly adjourned half a month ago. Yet the ruling Democratic Progressive Party government's "Join the UN" movement remains in full swing. The ruling DPP wants the Sports Affairs Council (SAC) to sponsor an island wide "Join the UN" marathon torch run. What is the SAC's annual budget? Is the SAC being accorded due respect? The Taichung City Government held a "National Folkways Festival." The central government provided three million in funds. Then It demanded that all of the National Folkways Festival's promotional literature incorporate "Join the UN" propaganda and slogans. What do folkways have to do with joining the UN?

What's even more disturbing, the Referendum Act clearly stipulates that government agencies may neither conduct, nor authorize others to conduct, plebiscite or referenda related matters. Government agencies may not use funds or assign personnel at any level to plebiscite or referenda related matters. A Ministry of Finance internal conference flagrantly assigned personnnel to collect signatures for the "Join the UN" petition drive. With a straight face, Vice Minister Li Jui-tsang declared that "civil servants exercised their right to express themselves." Excuse me, but did the good vice minister respect the right of civil servants, who are obligated to remain neutral in the conduct of their duties, to express or not express themselves as they saw fit? The good vice minister apparently did not realize he had already violated the law. When issuing senior citizens their monthly welfare checks, Chiayi County "asked" them to sign the "Join the UN" petition. The county government explained that this was an isolated incident. Frankly, even isolated incidents are unacceptable. These are merely incidents that have been exposed. How many incidents have yet to be exposed?

From the moment the Democratic Progressive Party decided to package deal its "Plebiscite to Join the UN" with the 2008 Presidential Election, the island has been mired in an endless "Join the UN" nightmare. To paraphrased an expression coined by former US president Bill Clinton, and used by both the ruling and opposition parties to attack each other: "It's the plebiscite, stupid!"

中時電子報
中國時報 　2007.10.18
怎容有這般無法無天的政令宣導？
中時社論

　今年的聯合國大會已經結束了，台灣入聯運動則還沒了。為了拚入聯，民進黨政府全面動員，不但民間私函被蓋上入聯戳章，連水電費帳單、甚至接下來中油發票都要印上入聯標記，鋪天蓋地搞入聯，只為了一件事：配合民進黨的入聯公投綁大選；從基層公務員到國營事業員工，都得配合這項「政策」，既無視文官中立的法制，更無視人民自由意志，這是什麼國家？什麼政黨？

　入聯戳章讓外籍人士都質疑，憑什麼私人郵件可以未經同意被蓋戳章？這位外語老師陶維極用最淺白的語言道出心聲：「我只是希望民主國家，就是要以民為主。」很遺憾，創造寧靜革命、民主奇蹟的台灣，還是學不會以民為主的真義。

　面對入聯戳章爭議，民進黨立委說，一九八二至一九八四年間，都曾加蓋「加速以三民主義統一中國」、「終止姑息主義」、「推翻共產暴政」等郵戳，評論不能雙重標準。民進黨立委說的沒錯，但是別忘了，那是廿三、五年前的事，那個時代，叫做「威權時代」，不要說「民主」，連「開放」都談不上。號稱民主進步的執政黨，難道要向廿五年前的威權政黨看齊嗎？

　政府宣導政令還要看宣導什麼政令，重返聯合國是前總統李登輝執政時期的重大政策，當年的李登輝或國民黨政府敢要求中華郵政在私人郵件上蓋返聯戳章嗎？民進黨政府執政後，郵件戳章重現江湖，民國九十二年蓋的是「戰勝ＳＡＲＳ不分你我他」，對當時舉國低迷的氣氛中，還有點激勵人心的作用；還有「人人扮青天家家反賄選」，起碼也是全民都肯定的價值。

　至於入聯，是不是全民共識？從民調上看，超過七成民眾支持；但是，別忘了這裡頭包含台灣入聯和中華民國返聯，民進黨政府動員各部會，全面配合「政府政策」的同時，部會首長卻在立法院面對在野陣營強烈質疑行政不中立，或者違法挪移預算。最高民意機關對這些作法都在質疑的時候，政府怎麼能如此蠻橫地認為我要做的事，就叫「政策」，就非幹到底不可？

　這些戳章，從郵件到水電費帳單上、甚至未來的發票，都是要耗費預算和人事成本額外的工作，新聞局說所有的入聯文宣沒用到別人一毛錢，為什麼？因為各單位都自行吸收啦，政府單位和國營事業的花費，都是全民埋單！這些不夠，新聞局更進一步，發函或口頭通知要求各有線、無線電視台，要以「徵用公益秒數」的方式，要電視台播出委外製作的兩支入聯廣告，這已經是吃到民間企業了，面對年底即將到來的換照審核，哪一家電視台敢說「不」？政策宣導能這樣威脅利誘嗎？

　入聯是不是公益？陳水扁總統自己出訪南太時都說，選戰就是要打入聯，民進黨從一開始就要用入聯公投綁大選，民進黨總統參選人謝長廷閉關十三天後出面，第一件事就是變更他的選舉主軸，從原本的「幸福經濟」一轉而為入聯。聯合國大會已經結束半個月了，民進黨政府的入聯動員還沒結束，要體委會埋單的入聯聖火全台路跑才要啟動，體委會一年預算多少錢？體育圈有被尊重嗎？還有台中市政府舉辦的「全國社區民俗育樂觀摩活動」，中央補助了三百萬，也要求必須全面印製入聯文宣和標語，民俗育樂和入聯何干？

　更恐怖的是，公投法明定行政機關不得藉用任何形式對各項議題辦理或委託辦理公民投票事項，行政機關對此亦不得動用任何經費及調用各級政府職員。結果，財政部內部會議直接分派入聯公投連署，主持會議的次長李瑞倉臉不紅氣不喘的說「公務員有表態的自由」，很抱歉，文官中立，他尊重公務員也有不表態的自由嗎？他更搞不清楚自己已經有觸法之虞了；嘉義縣發放老人津貼竟要求領取津貼老人蓋章在連署書上，縣政府解釋這是個案，坦白講，個案都不行。而這些都還是被爆料的而已，沒被爆料的呢？

　從民進黨決定入聯公投綁大選那一刻開始，全國就陷入日復一日無止盡的入聯噩夢，套用一句朝野最近彼此相互攻詰最常用的話：笨蛋，問題就在入聯公投！