[quote]A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday suggested amending the party’s anti-corruption regulations that would prevent Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) from running in the 2008 presidential election should he be indicted over his alleged mishandling of a public fund.
“I will propose a special clause to exclude the `black gold clause’ regulation’s influence on Ma, should the worst case scenario occur and he is indicted,” KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) said.
The KMT’s “black gold exclusion clause,” which was amended under Ma’s chairmanship in the hope of improving the party’s image and integrity, states that any member may be suspended if they are indicted.
Tsai said yesterday that the investigation into Ma’s handling of his allowance was “wrong,” as the problems had arisen out of a “flawed system” rather than “corruption.”[/quote]
If something doesn’t suite you, just change the rules … :s
I tried to frame this issue in terms of an intelligent discourse on what needs to be done in my “Salaries…” post , but I see that is not working. Belgian pie & LA: I see you take the, “Why work things out when you can sensationalize? Why write when you can cut-and-paste?” approaches
As the election season hots up, expect the KMT to delve further into their reserves of overly used dead horse tricks to sensationalize . This comes after the “fund scandal” fizzles out and backfires on them, and theres only so much to be made out of Jason Hu’s woes.
But, if you insist, here it goes. Declare a general amnesty for all politicians with slush funds. Restart from scratch and get rid of all slush funds or clearly write out the rules for using the expenses for politicians.
Not sure how far the analogy can be taken, but how about some kind of truth and reconciliation commission - i.e. you don’t get something for nothing. In order to qualify for amnesty, disclosure and transparency are required.
From the Taipei Times:
[quote]“If investigations were conducted thoroughly, tens of thousands of sitting and retired government officials [who have or have had access to special allowance funds] might be implicated.”
Tsai Chin-lung, KMT caucus whip[/quote]
I’m almost optimistic that people are beginning to see the implications of all this. Change must come from the bottom to the top - or shut up and revel in Taiwanese corruption culture. This could end up being positive whatever your political perspective.
That’s not so and the contrary may be part of a fresh start program, but disclosure and transparency may also be a term of a general amnsety.
Purgative even. The result could be a larger middle class. That to me would solve problems like copyright protections. Large middle classes can afford intellectual property at retail prices, but a larger middle class in Asia seems a little repugnant to me. Maybe that’s because I have the idea that middle class people are whiny college grads or brainless couch potatoes and they get ideas like publishing a neighborhood newsletter.
. This comes after the “fund scandal” fizzles out and backfires on them, and theres only so much to be made out of Jason Hu’s woes.