Might makes Rite: lecture

Insightful and interesting Paul Katz of China Beat is giving a talk on religion and justice in Taiwan.

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司法院還是城隍廟?
—解讀台灣的另一種「司法」

證明自己清白，候選人要到神明前「斬雞頭」；受了冤屈，小市民要到地藏庵前「告陰狀」；甚至法庭的判決書，要拿到廟裡燒掉，才是正義的終極落實；警察、檢察官辦理懸案，往往毫不避諱地當眾訴諸鬼神…。

在陽光下進行的是現代司法體系，在看不見的地方同步進行的是一個完整的「地獄司法體系」。

二十一世紀，台灣社會仍然倚賴陰、陽兩路司法系統維繫秩序，人判之外加神判，意味著什麼？神明判案的傳統究竟是擴大了現代的「公共領域」呢？還是凸顯了現代司法的不足以信任？


講者　康 豹 中央研究院近代史研究所研究員
主持 柳立言 中央研究院歷史語言研究所研究員

2010年10月16日(六) 14:00~16:00
月涵堂會議廳(台北市金華街110號)

Rite Makes Right—
Judicial Rituals in Postwar Taiwan

The term “legal system” was transmitted from the West to China in the nineteenth century. Its “rational” nature is different from the Chinese ideology of justice, which extends to the ways in which gods control all human affairs. Such “underworld” judicial system is extremely unusual when accused of vote-buying, Taiwan’s politicians, ranging from city councilors to presidential candidates, do not hesitate to make oaths of innocence, and until recently beheaded live chickens to stress their rightness. Ordinary citizens embroiled in various financial disputes file underworld indictments against their enemies. Even policemen and prosecutors regularly make offerings at temples in order to crack tough cases.

Why does modern Taiwan still practice such judicial rituals in the context of economic growth and with legal reform? Is it due to an expansion of traditional religion in the public sphere or a representation of flaws that still existed in the legal system today?

Speaker Paul Katz Research Fellow, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica
Moderato Nap Yin Lau Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

Date and time：16 October Saturday, 2010 14:00 – 16:00
Venue：Yue-han Hall （110 Jin Hua Street Taipei）

全程英語 不備翻譯 ENGLISH ONLY

報名Registration Tel 02-33224907 Fax 02-33224918 www.civictaipei.org

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