Is justice dead in Taiwan? Obviously Chen thinks it is, now that he’s behind bars. The “son of Taiwan,” the lofty title he gives to himself, personifies justice itself. Therefore, justice is dead the moment when the “son of Taiwan” was handcuffed by police on Nov. 11.

Not everybody was mourning. There were people setting off firecrackers to celebrate. They were ecstatic about the rebirth of justice. Justice is dead, long live justice! A jubilant Chiu Yi, the KMT legislator and famous muckraker, said he “bellowed three big laughs” upon hearing of Chen’s arrest. Outspoken lawmaker Hung Hsiu-chu commented: “It’s really heart-gladdening.” Other KMT officials were restrained, trying not to show any traces of glee.

If justice were dead, the former president would be the last person to mourn its demise. In his 8 years in office, the Judiciary was firmly under his control. The current president of the Judiciary Yuan as well as the Prosecutor-General were handpicked and appointed by him. So was the intelligence boss. The judiciary did nothing to seek his indictment while he was president, immune to criminal investigation under the Constitution. But that did not mean that justice was alive and kicking when he was at the helm.

In fact, Chen Shui-bian was protected not only by the Constitution of the Republic of China, the supreme law of the land which he had wanted to tear into pieces, but also by the judiciary that was staffed by like-minded officials.

“Justice is dead” is not a new slogan invented by Chen. It was ubiquitous when Chen stole the 2004 election from Lien Chan with two mysterious bullets. It was dead when former first lady Wu Shu-chen was able to refuse summons from prosecutors investigating her role in the alleged corruption case.

Facts showed that justice was not dead due to Chen’s detention. The opposite is true. Justice got a new birth, showing the nation’s judiciary still has a lot of conscientious, fair-minded professionals who cherish judiciary independence above their own self-interests.

To say justice is dead is absurd when justice was in fact having a field day, a historic moment when the light of law was brightening the way, illustrating the dark corners of the past. Yes, the nation’s judiciary has never been truly independent, for historical reasons. There were times when the judiciary served as the tool of politics. The Sun Li-Jen mutiny case in 1955 and the Lei Chen sedition case in 1960 were tragic examples of judicial persecution. There were times when writers Li Ao and Po Yang were sent to Green Isle as political prisoners, and Shih Ming-te, Chen Shui-bian, Annette Lu were jailed for political dissent. They were prisoners of conscience.

Now, however, Chen Shui-bian is detained neither for political dissent nor for religious faith. He was jailed for alleged corruption involving billions of dollars. So far, the prosecutors are in possession of evidence of suspected money laundering uncovered by foreign intelligence agencies. But, from the beginning, the former president has been trying to politicize the case, portraying himself as a victim of his political belief — independence for Taiwan. He accuses Ma Ying-jeou of “colluding with China” to persecute him politically.

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