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Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Chen defense from NeoFormosa Mag

I've uploaded an extremely long post to my backup blog that consists of a detailed discussion from the Chen Shui-bian defense team of his case, from Neo Formosa Magazine, the old Formosa mag in current reincarnation. That was the mag Chen was part of when he was sent to jail in the 1980s.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2009 at 9:01 PM

    What I find really interesting is the sexism of the prosecution. They seem to be (illegally) applying traditional Han gender roles in order to prosecute Chen, which runs contrary to the articles of gender equality in the ROC Constitution.

    Wait!

    I know that sounds completely mad, but if you consider how the KMT incorporated the Han concepts of gender into the ROC state we can see that Chen is being prosecuted for the crimes committed by his family members, and therefore, in Han culture, as the patriarch of his family based on his ability to amass power and influence (and not merely by age grade) Chen is being held responsible for their transgressions. In the eyes of a Confucio-Han centrist, Chen, as the "master of his wife and children" is responsible for their behavior as he did not fulfill his traditional role to "teach/tutor" them properly. It is a case where 19th Century mores are being selectively applied to a modern system form the selectively high horse of Han chauvinism. On a lesser degree we often see this type of behavior in civil cases, the education system, and yes, whenever some underling F-s up and the superior takes the fall ... like the semi-annual sacking of the Premier.

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  2. DavidSeptember 10, 2009 at 8:53 AM

    It's 10,000 words long! At the end it appears to have been cut off in mid-sentence too.

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  3. Robert Scott KellySeptember 10, 2009 at 1:24 PM

    I found it a weak defense. Very little in the way of facts, or well reasoned arguments. A lot of "of course that's absurb" and "how could he do B if A" when A is not established. For example, how could Chen have embezzled state funds when he spent more than the state funds allowed? That is a good argument but it would be better if there was some proof provided, even in a quote, to back up the claim that he spend more. In this age of the ol' web, a few links would have helped. Sloppy work, really, despite the length. Sounds more like a paid advertisement than a serious defense.

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  4. DavidSeptember 11, 2009 at 4:17 PM

    Robert, the burden of proof lies on the prosecutors. I think the criticisms you make may reflect the fact that the case the prosecutors made was weak and lacking solid evidence.

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