China Times: How can the judicial system be trusted? - Focus Taiwan News Channel

Former President Chen Shui-bian and his wife Wu Shu-jen were surprisingly found not guilty of corruption Friday after a three-judge panel reversed a previous ruling. The panel said the amount of money spent by Chen using a special state fund reserved for the president's discretionary use was higher than the sum he allegedly embezzled.

In its not-guilty ruling, the panel did not clarify whether the "state fund" was the same as the "president's special fund for discretionary use," and did not bother to describe the difference between the two.

The court ruling reversal is extremely surprising, but an even more pressing issue is whether the much-talked-about judicial reforms are true or not?

Prominent as they are, the ex-first family's corruption and money laundering cases have so far danced to the typical tunes of Taiwan's legal tradition -- felony in first trial, light crime in second trial, retrial, and in the end innocent.

The not-guilty ruling handed down by the high court panel was a reversal of a previous ruling handed down by the same court. By reversing the ruling, doesn't the panel need to explain to the country why and where the previous high court judges were wrong in their decision?

With constant flip-flopping on many prominent cases, why should the people trust the judicial system any more?

Why don't presidential candidates renew their attention to so-called "judicial reform" by debating the issue at a time when the dignity and credibility of judicial decisions are vanishing like dirt? (Editorial abstract -- Aug. 28, 2011) (By Deborah Kuo) enditem/ls

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