Special Investigation Division Disbanded to Protect Chen Shui-bian and Ko Chien-min

Special Investigation Division Disbanded to Protect Chen Shui-bian and Ko Chien-min 
United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC) 
A Translation 
August 12, 2016

Executive Summary: The Tsai government is able to ram through any legislation it wants at whim, establishing new agencies by which it can railroad political opponents. It can amend laws at whim, and destroy a powerful agency dedicated to combating crime. The speed at which the Tsai government is expanding its power is truly alarming.

Full Text Below:

Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san gave five reasons why the Special Investigation Division is no longer necessary. He urged the Legislative Yuan to disband it. President Tsai Ing-wen has beaten the drum for "judicial reform". But her nominees for president and vice president of the Judicial Yuan were both considered unqualified. Now, lo and behold, the Ministry of Justice has ordered the disbanding of the Special Investigation Division, an agency dedicated to prosecuting the rich and powerful. Is this what the Tsai government considers judicial reform? If so, one has to wonder its seriousness. More importantly, does the Tsai government intend to expand its power and disband crime fighting agencies purely on whim? If so, the Tsai government is nothing more than another authoritarian regime.

The Special Investigation Division was formed in 2007 under the Chen Shui-bian government, at the behest of Tsai Chi-fang, one of the “Three Treasures” of the DPP legislative caucus. Back then, the DPP boasted how the unit would uphold justice and be a powerful weapon in the fight against crime. Even the president and the presidents of the five Yuan would not be exempt from prosecution. Today, less than a decade later, all that rhetoric has been abandoned. Now the DPP argues that the Special Investigation Division interferes with prosecutorial oversight and lacks explicit legal justification. Now it denies the need for a Special Investigation Division. One feels compelled to ask, if such reasons are valid today, why did the DPP not consider them before forcibly implementing them yesterday?

Back then Tsai Chi-fang proposed the establishment of the Special Investigation Division. Today his son Tsai Yi-yu is proposing its repeal. This reflects the capricious nature of Taiwan's politics. Probably no one considers this "father and son” saga worth recording for posterity. But why is the Ministry of Justice playing along with Tsai Yi-yu? That is the real question. Actually, Chen Chih-chung admitted that he asked Tsai Ing-wen to disband the Special Investigation Division. DPP Chief Convener Ko Chien-min denounced the Special Investigation Division as a "constitutional monster". He probably knows better than anyone who wanted the Special Investigation Division disbanded.

The Special Investigation Division was established ten years ago. The DPP may claim it has achieved little during its years in existence. But the public would disagree. The Special Investigation Division tackled the State Affairs Fund case, the money-laundering case, the sale of official positions case, and the Second Financial Reform case. It enabled prosecutors to convict ex-president Chen Shui-bian and put him behind bars. It enabled prosecutors to cross the sea to recover bribe money remitted overseas. It left behind a shining record of achievement. It provided the public with insights into the abuse of power by a corrupt head of state. Such cases can only be handled by specially authorized Special Investigation Divisions. Prosecuting them by means of the regular criminal justice system is simply impossible.

The Special Investigation Division has undergone its fourth change in personnel. Its performance has been uneven. When it investigated the High Court judge corruption cases, the Lin Yi-shi corruption case, the Traditional Chinese Medicine dealers and Dentists Guild bribery case, its record was examplary. But other high-profile cases remain unsolved. These include the 3/19 shooting incident. But the worst blow for the Special Investigation Division was the Ko Chien-ming/Wang Jin-pyn influence peddling case. The case involved rivalry between Ma Ying-jeou and Wang Jin-pying. Consequently the legitimacy of certain key procedures has been called into question. The green camp colluded with pro-Wang forces to strike back at the blue camp. Huang Shi-ming was prosecuted for the "crime of leaking secrets". The image of the Special Investigation Division suffered a serious setback.

The Chen family corruption case brought great shame to the DPP. Overnight, the green camp contributions to democracy turned to dust. It is easy to understand why the DPP despises the Special Investigation Division. As a result, three years ago, Ko Chien-min and pro-Wang Jin-pyng forces toppled Huang Shi-ming, and exacted revenge. But they were not content. Now the DPP wants to get rid of the Special Investigation Division altogether. As we can see, doing away with the Special Investigation Division is the new government's way to avenge Chen Shui-bian and Ko Chien-min. Is the Special Investigation Division a “constitutional monster”? If it is, it was born out of the green camp. If the green camp now wants to destroy it, does that not make the new government an even more frightening “constitutional monster”? How can such an attitude, "born of love, died of hate”, possibly promote judicial reform?

When news that the Ministry of Justice intended to scrap the Special Investigation Division emerged, Eric Chen, one of the prosecutors responsible for the creation of the Special Investigation Division, asked two questions. One. How will the rich and powerful be prosecuted without the Special Investigation Division? Two. Will Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san have the wherewithal to assume the role of "bad guy", and help prosecutors resist outside pressure? Both questions point to the same problem. How to eliminate political interference in criminal prosecution. The reason for establishing the Special Investigation Division in the first place, was to bypass layer upon layer of administrative and political interference, enabling prosecutors to zero in on the rich and powerful. Now however, the Ministry of Justice is invoking technical reasons for abolishing the Special Investigation Division, reasons such as difficulties with internal assessments. Is this progress, or regress? Is this reform, or reaction? Is this the rule of law, or the rule of man?

The Tsai government is able to ram through any legislation it wants at whim, establishing new agencies by which it can railroad political opponents. It can amend laws at whim, and destroy a powerful agency dedicated to combating crime. The speed at which the Tsai government is expanding its power is truly alarming.

聯合／特偵組因陳水扁、柯建銘而廢
2016-08-12 04:44   聯合報社論

法務部長邱太三端出洋洋灑灑五大理由，說明特偵組已無存在之必要，建議立法院修法廢除。蔡英文總統把「司法改革」喊得震天價響，但她提名的司法院正副院長人選卻皆遭輿論指為不適格；如今，竟又由法務部喝令廢除專辦權貴犯罪的特偵組。如果這就是蔡政府司法改革的起身砲，我們懷疑其改革會有多少成效；更嚴重的是，這種只因自己的喜好動輒擴權或拆撤機關的作風，將把蔡政府變成一個新的威權政府。
特偵組二○○七年在陳水扁政府手上成立，由民進黨「立院三寶」之一的蔡啟芳提案修法。當時民進黨的論述正義堂皇，聲稱將如何打擊權貴犯罪，乃至劍指總統和五院院長云云。如今，十年不到，上述所有堂皇說詞皆棄之於地，改以影響檢察機關監督、違反法律明確性原則等理由，否定特偵組存在之必要。試問，如果今天的理由成立，當初為何不未加深思而強行設置？

當初由蔡啟芳領銜提案設立的特偵組，今天由其子蔡易餘提案廢除，只反映了台灣政治的躁鬱和出爾反爾的本能，大約不會有人認為這是值得流傳千古的「父子佳話」。反倒是，法務部為何自甘配合蔡易餘的提案演出，才足堪玩味。其實，由陳致中自爆曾向蔡英文提議廢特偵組，民進黨總召柯建銘則大罵特偵組為立法錯誤的「憲政怪獸」，應更能找出特偵組將遭廢棄之線索。

如果要說特偵組成立十年一無是處，社會大眾恐難苟同。當年特偵組承辦陳水扁國務機要費案、洗錢案、買官案、二次金改案等，讓甫卸任的陳水扁鎯鐺入獄，並跨海討回匯往海外的賄款，寫下了民主政治史上精采的一頁，也讓國人見識到一個貪腐元首可以濫權到什麼地步。這類案件，若非由特別授權的特偵組專案處理，而是經由一般檢察系統分案，要辦出這樣的成績，恐怕絕無可能。

特偵組歷經四屆的成員更替，表現也有高低起落。例如，偵辦高院法官貪汙案、林益世貪瀆案、中藥商及牙醫公會行賄案等，都有可觀的成績；但也有若干廣受注目的案件懸而未決，如三一九槍擊案。然而，真正給了特偵組一記重擊的是柯王關說案，該案因捲入「馬王政爭」風波，若干關鍵程序之正當性受到質疑；在綠營聯合藍軍擁王人馬的反撲下，不僅黃世銘反因「洩密罪」遭到判刑，特偵組的形象也受到重挫。

扁家貪瀆案帶給整個民進黨莫大的羞辱，讓綠營的民主業績一夕蒙塵，不難想像，民進黨對於特偵組多麼恨之入骨。也因此，三年前柯建銘領軍結合擁王勢力扳倒黃世銘報了一箭之仇，還嫌不夠，如今民進黨執政，對特偵組必欲除之而後快。從這樣的脈絡看，廢特偵組之舉，視為新政府為陳水扁、柯建銘的復仇事件，並不為過。然而，如果特偵組是一隻憲政怪獸，牠是綠營生出來的；如今綠營悻悻然要消滅牠，難道不也把自己變成更大的憲政怪獸了嗎？請問，這種「愛之欲其生、惡之欲其死」的態度，如何可能將司法推向制度化？

法務部擬廢特偵組的消息傳出後，當初特偵組催生者之一的檢察官陳瑞仁提出兩個關鍵問題：其一，將來如何辦權貴犯罪？其二，法務部長邱太三將來能否扮演「壞人」角色，幫檢察官抵抗外界的壓力？這兩個問題，其實都指向同一個核心：政治干預辦案的因素如何消除。當初成立特偵組，是為了跳過層層行政及政治干擾，使檢察官可以直搗權貴犯罪之巢穴；現在，法務部卻以內部考核不便等下層技術性理由，主張廢掉特偵組；這是進步還是退步？是改革還是保守？是人治還是法治？

且看蔡政府，隨便立一個法，就能成立新機構來整肅對手；隨便修一個法，就可以廢掉一個專門打擊權貴犯罪的司法部隊。其權力自我膨脹的速度，令人擔憂。