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台灣平埔：《時代》將扁家排名才是2006最大醜聞

Dear Editor,


You list prosecution of President Chen’s wife as top 10 scandals in 2006. However, you fail to mention that many people believe it is just a minor administrative error.


President Chen voluntarily cut his own salary by more than a million dollars and returned a special fund which is worth tens of millions of dollars and can be spent whatever way he pleases. It’s hard to believe that he would use such a troublesome and risky way, meaning asking his wife to collect more than 700 personal receipts from his family and friends, to pocket less than half million dollars of state fund. President Chen’s claim that the use of personal receipts is to fund the secret diplomacy is much more believable given Taiwan’s international status.


In addition, the constitution of Taiwan prevents the President from being charged except for treason. It is to protect the presidency not any particular President let alone a “tailored Teflon suit” for President Chen. The wording is very bias and far away from truth.


As one of the most influential news magazines, Time should strive to report the truth and the whole truth. Please correct the bias wording and make an effort to let your readers know the other side of the story. Otherwise, you will lose my trust and my subscription.

Dear Sir,

Your report on the trouble in Taiwan in your list of top ten scandals in 2006 is unjust and outrageously unbalanced.


Unjust is your description by stating that our president seems to be wearing a consitutionally tailored Teflon suit. Our Constitution stipulates that our president is immune from criminal charges except treason. Such a principle applies to all presidents elected in Taiwan to protect the office, as in the US, your president is also immune from civil lawsuits, perhaps not all criminal charges. But after President Chen steps down, he is a normal citizen, no longer protected by such immunity. This constitutional design is common among many countries, even to international organizations, as in EU.


Outrageously unbalanced is there are other opinions that our president and his families are not the roots of these scandals. Ms Shaheen in Wall Street Journal (November 08, 2006) wrote that they are attacked because some "refuse-to-lose" parties and people have intended to hamper his regime. Such opinions and possibilities are nowhere to be found in your report.


Yours as an influential magazine, a flimsy and biased report as such is unacceptable to many Taiwanese readers.


Sincerely,
A Reader

陳水扁, 吳淑珍, 時代, Time, 總統, 新聞