Does Presidential Anger Spell Hope for Anti-Corruption?

Does Presidential Anger Spell Hope for Anti-Corruption?
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
April 10, 2009

Is corruption more serious on Taiwan than on the mainland? Most people on Taiwan aren't convinced. According to the Asian Political and Economic Risk Consultancy's corruption evaluation report published yesterday, out of 17 regions in Asia, the United States, and Australia, Taiwan ranks eighth in severity of corruption. According to the foreign entrepreneurs who responded, corruption on Taiwan is even more serious than on the mainland! Because of this, President Ma Ying-jeou angrily called a press conference, and declared that the government was determined to combat corruption. He also demanded that government agencies issue reports within three months. It is rumored that Ma Ying-jeou's anger was directed primarily at the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice.

Ma Ying-jeou is right to get angry. Ever since becoming involved in politics, combatting corruption has been Ma Ying-jeou's highest priority, especially during his term as Minister of Justice. It was also one of the most important planks in his presidential campaign platform, and the key to his election victory. But nearly a year after taking office, apart from the ongoing investigation of the Chen corruption and money-laundering, one sees no signs that the President is combating corruption. The first wave of investigations led to a number of prosecutions. But a second wave has yet to show results. Huang Fang-yen is a key suspect in the Chen corruption and money-laundering case, currently on the wanted list. Yet he has flown the coop, and the Special Investigation Unit is utterly helpless.

A scandal within the upper ranks of the military has erupted. General officers bribed their way to promotions. General's stars were dispensed so freely they constituted a nebula. The stars had price tags of course. The former Major-General in charge of the Hengshan Command Post even accepted sexual favors during the Red Shirt Army "Depose Ah-Bian" protests, disgracing the armed services. Chen Shui-bian faction DPP Legislator Kao Chi-peng said this was the inevitable result of a Party/State Complex. For a Chen Shui-bian faction legislator to point the finger certainly takes chutzpah! During the Two Chiangs Era the Party/State Complex prevailed, yet promotion to general was extremely difficult. One never heard of generalships coming with price tags. During the Lee Teng-hui era, this remained the case. One never heard of any general being promoted because he paid money. It was only during the eight year long Chen Shui-bian era that over 730 officers were promoted to general. That generalships had price tags was rumored within the military long ago. Yet no one bothered to investigate. Huang Fang-yen, who fled the country as a result of the Chen corruption and money-laundering case, is a key figure in the appointment of generals within the military. He never boasted of his role to friends in private. If one wanted to buy a generalship, he was the man who could seal the deal. The scandal was uncovered not by the Special Investigation Unit, but by the Military Investigation Board, during an investigation of construction fraud. The Bill of Indictment also exposed former Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai's "recommendations." The investigation led to the indictments of the customers, the aspiring generals. The only person not indicted was the man doing the selling. Huang Fang-yen, the key suspect wanted by the Special Investigation Unit, flew the coop, What sort of anti-corruption is this?

Nor is this the only scandal within the military. From the Chinese Academy of Sciences construction scandal, to the recent generalships for sale scandal, how many have been investigated and indicted? What has the Department of Defense done? If the Military Investigation Board had not stumbled across it, the sale of generalships would have remained merely a rumor. During the eight year long Chen Shui-bian era, over 730 officers were promoted to general. Does the Ma administration's Secretary of Defense really have the guts to investigate and prosecute those generals who bought their positions, and take away their stars?

The DPP took over from the KMT. The KMT has since taken over from the DPP. But when has the Department of Defense ever had the guts to prosecute any of its generals? If the Department of Defense refuses to prosecute, then how will the public know which active duty generals promoted during the Chen Shui-bian era bought their stars? What will become of their credibility? The Department of Defense must set up an anti-corruption group, posthaste. It must submit a report within three months. The public will await the Defense Department's report in July, to see which generals will lose their stars.

Another reason for Ma Ying-jeou's anger is the Ministry of Justice. Public Prosecutor Wu Wen-Chung, who recently left the Special Investigation Unit and returned to the Taichung High Prosecutor's Office, said sarcastically, "Who has the guts to do what the President is asking? Saving your own hide comes first. Anyone who does what the president asks is an idiot." Wu expended a great deal of effort investigating the Chen case. He discovered that Chen corruption and money-laundering case suspect Huang Fang-yen, had expended little effort to rake in a fortune. And yet Huang still could not be extradited. How much Huang Fang-yen raked in from Ah-Bian's "Second Financial Reform" scam, from his money laundering operation, and from his sale of generalships remains a mystery. Prosecutors are not idiots. Nor is the general public so idiotic as to believe that the Special Investigation Group can extradite Huang Fang-yen merely because Ma Ying-jeou got angry. Forget the Chen corruption and money-laundering case. Has anyone investigated the Chen Shui-bian government's construction scandals or Chinese Medicine lobbying scandals? Those prosecuted are all outgoing legislators. Currently serving legislators have remained untouched. Not one of the suspects in the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit scandal has been prosecuted since the change in ruling parties. Forget the Taiwan Railway Administration scandal and the ETC scandal. The officials responsible have all fled the country. The case is dead. Unless someone makes a stink, it will not be investigated. The National Palace Museum Southern Branch scandal is even more mind-boggling. The case files have completely disappeared. Further investigation is impossible.

Combating corruption is easy to talk about but hard to do. Nobody wants to be the bad guy who stops others from getting rich. Government officials don't always cover for each other. But their philosophy is, as long as it can be covered up, why bother exposing it? As long as it can be swept under the rug, everything is simpatico. When people in authority feel this way, when they worry only about public scandals, they allow the corrupt to hide behind the good will of the multitude, and enjoy the fruits of their outrages. The Ma administration has been in power for nearly a year. But what does it have to show in the way of combating corruption? For the President to get angry is not a bad thing. But now that he has gotten angry, what the people really expect is results. These results had better be forthcoming three months from now.

中時電子報
中國時報 　2009.04.10
社論－總統生氣後 我們等著看肅貪成效
本報訊

台灣比大陸貪汙更嚴重？相信多數台灣人不會服氣，根據亞洲政經風險顧問公司日前發表的貪汙評比報告，十七個亞洲、美澳國家中，台灣貪汙嚴重度排名第八，在受訪外商眼中甚至比大陸還嚴重！為此，馬英九總統怒而親自舉行記者，宣示政府肅貪決心，更要求政府部門三個月內提出檢討報告，據說，馬英九之怒，泰半針對國防部與法務部而來。

馬英九生氣不是沒有道理。肅貪本來就是馬英九從政以來，尤其是法務部長任內最介意的事，更是他總統大選的重要政見，且是勝選關鍵，就任近一年時間中，除了扁案持續偵辦外，也沒看到肅貪有什麼其他成果。遑論扁案第一波偵結後，第二波還沒下文，連扁案重要關係人（現在成為通緝犯）黃芳彥甚至潛逃在外，特偵組完全沒皮條。

最近，甚且爆發軍中將領買官弊案，台灣將星如雲，星星都有價碼；前衡山指揮所少將指揮官竟在紅衫軍集結抗扁時接受性招待，把國軍的顏面都丟光了，扁系民進黨立委高志鵬批評，這是黨國體制下必然產生的弊端，虧扁系立委說得出口！兩蔣時代，算是黨國體制吧，升上將多嚴格？沒聽說過將官還有價碼的；李登輝時代，也沒放寬，還是沒聽說哪個將官可以靠送禮送錢升官的，獨獨扁時代，八年執政將官升了七百卅多人，將官有價碼早為軍中傳聞，卻無人聞問，扁案潛逃出境未歸的黃芳彥，就是軍中將領人事的關鍵人物之一，他私下從不諱言和朋友炫耀，軍中人事他都能喬；這一回，不是特偵組查辦的，而是板檢偵辦軍中工程弊案追出的案外案，追出了軍事掮客賣官案，起訴書中還追出前總統府副秘書長卓榮泰的「推荐書」，但是，全案追出掮客與將官，唯獨辦不了真正的賣官者，這樣的肅貪能發揮多少作用？遑論特偵組辦弊案辦到喬軍中將領人事的黃芳彥都跑了，還肅什麼貪呢？

軍中弊案不只一樁，從過去的中科院工程弊案到最近爆發的將領人事，到底查辦了誰？國防部管了什麼事？若非板檢查出案外案，天知道將軍買官竟非傳聞！扁政府八年，升了七百卅多位將官，馬政府的國防部長真敢查辦還在役的將領，哪一個是送錢買到官的嗎？查到了，敢把將官的星星給拔了嗎？

從早年到現在，從國民黨執政到民進黨執政，從民進黨執政回復到國民黨執政，國防部有什麼魄力辦將官？國防部不辦，哪個民眾不懷疑，扁政府時代升任的現役將官中，誰是買來的將星，將軍還有何權威可言？國防部急如星火成立肅貪專案小組，三個月內要限期提出報告，全國人民等著國防部七月報告，到底會拔掉哪一顆星？

法務部是馬英九生氣的另一個原因。最近才從特偵組歸建到中檢的檢察官吳文忠語帶譏諷地說，「誰敢配合總統？保命要緊，配合總統的是笨蛋。」他費力查扁案，查到如今錢多事少離家近，扁案關鍵人物黃芳彥還是不回來，二次金改、洗錢、乃至黃芳彥到底喬了多少將官人事，從此成謎。不但檢察官不笨，民眾也不會笨到相信特偵組因為馬英九之怒，就能在三個月之內追回黃芳彥，查出上述謎團；不要講扁案，試問：扁政府任內爆發的工程弊案，查下去了嗎？中藥商遊說案，辦的都是卸任立委，現任全沒事；高捷弊案風風火火，政黨輪替後，全部不起訴！甭提台鐵計軸器案、ＥＴＣ案，涉入的官商都跑了，此案竟就成了陳年老案，無人問就不再辦，擱著；故宮南院弊案更絕，公文檔案全沒了，查都查不下去。

肅貪兩個字，說來很簡單，做來卻很難，因為沒人要當擋人財路的「壞人」，官官未必相護，但官場哲學是：能蓋住的就不要讓他曝光，能不掀開的就沒事，主事者心存此念，擔心弊案難看的結果，就是讓弊案與貪瀆者，永遠躲在多數人的善念之後，繼續胡作非為，或者享受胡作非為的成果。馬政府就任將近一年，能拿出多少肅貪成績？總統發怒，不是壞事，但是，怒後得有實際作為，全民就等三個月後驗收成果。