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Chen case testing Taiwan's democracy: analysts    陳案正在測試台灣的民主
  By Peter Harmsen (AFP) 13 Sep 法新社



　　TAIPEI — The trial of Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian was also a test of its young democracy, and it passed with only average grades, long-time observers of the island said. (長期關注台灣的觀察者們表示，對於前台灣總統的審判也是一個對台灣年輕民主政治的的試驗, 然而它僅僅及格罷了。)



　　The Taipei district court on Friday found 58-year-old Chen -- in detention since December -- guilty of embezzling state funds, laundering money, accepting bribes and committing forgery. (台北地方法院於週五判決五十八歲的陳水扁有罪：罪名為盜用公款，洗錢，收受賄款及偽造文書。)



　　Questions remain over whether his life sentence was a sign of a healthy legal system in which everyone is equal before the law, or if it marked the birth pangs of a banana republic with the courts reduced to tools in the hands of the powerful. (問題在於終生監禁的判決，是否是一個法律之前人人平等的健全司法制度的象徵，或是這紀錄了一個香蕉共和國悲愴的誕生；譯者引Wikipedia註：香蕉共和國是一個經濟體系？于單一經濟｛通常是經濟作物如香蕉、可可、咖啡等．．．｝、擁有不民主或不穩定的政府，特別是那些擁有廣泛貪污和強大外國勢力介入的國家的貶稱。)



　　"One may see a banana republic," said Murray Rubinstein, a Taiwan expert at Baruch College who has written or edited several books on the island's history and politics. "But I remain an optimist and see it all as a painful learning curve -- and this trial is just the latest step in this process." （一位來自Brauch學院，曾經撰寫及編輯多本關於台灣歷史與政治的書籍的台灣專家Murray Rubinstein表示：「我們看到了的一個香蕉共和國」，「但是我仍然是一個樂觀主義者，這一切是一個疼痛的學習過程 -- 這樣的審判只是在這樣學習歷程中的新的一步。」）



　　Chen's sentencing marked the climax of the most controversial trial in the history of Taiwan, which emerged from authoritarian rule less than a generation ago but is now a vibrant democracy, with what most consider an independent judiciary. (陳的審判寫下了台灣自上一代權威體制後，於擁有一個動蕩民主的現在，出現史上最爭議審判的極致，儘管在此同時，司法是被大多數人視為獨立的。)



　　That judiciary did what it was designed to in the Chen case but it could have done much better, according to Lin Feng-cheng, director of Taiwan's Judicial Reform Foundation, a non-governmental organisation. "The case shows that nobody is above the law and that even a former president can be tried under Taiwan's judicial system, which is progress for the rule of law," said Lin. "However, there were many problems during the investigation and trial, especially regarding Chen's detention." (台灣司改會執行長Lin Feng-cheng表示：台灣司法系統在陳案件中按照了規定行事，但是卻還有很大的進步空間；他表示「這個案件顯示了，沒有人是在法律之上的，甚至前總統也可以在臺灣的司法下審判，這是法律的進步。」然而，「有太多的問題出現在調查跟審判的過程中，特別是關於羈押陳的過程中。」)



　　In a letter to Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou early this year, nearly 30 international scholars warned the "the erosion of the judicial system" could jeopardise Chen's right to a fair trial. "Taiwan's judicial system must be not only above suspicion but even above the appearance of suspicion, of partiality and political bias," the letter said. (今年初在一封寫給台灣總統馬英九的信中，近30位國際學者警告，遭到侵蝕的司法系統會危害陳水扁受到公正審判的權利。信中指出, 「台灣的司法系統不僅要超越在懷疑之上，更要超越在懷疑的外觀，偏袒與政治偏見之上」。)



　　Under Taiwanese law, a sentence of life in jail is automatically appealed, and the new trial will be a chance for the legal system to make up for its shortcomings so far, observers said. "One hopes the second-instance trial... will redo the case in a way that will lead people to believe that evil has been punished in a fair and proper way," said Cohen. Legal experts have called for Chen's release from detention so he can prepare his defence in a more unhindered manner than has been the case so far. (觀察家指出，根據台灣法律，無期徒刑的判決會自動接著被上訴的，第二次審判將是修正法律制度缺點的一個機會。 Cohen認為「希望二審會讓人們相信罪惡是在一個『公平且正確』的方式下被懲罰的。」 法律專家們呼籲應該要停止對陳水扁的拘留，讓他可以比之前不受阻礙地準備他的辯護。)



　　"The High Court should give Chen a fair chance to defend himself when he appeals the ruling but this will be very difficult if he is still in custody," said Lin, of the Judicial Reform Commission. The Democratic Progressive Party, which Chen belonged to during almost his entire political career, on Saturday said it hoped there would be no repeat of the "many flaws and disputes that violated due process during the first trial". (司法改革委員會林先生表示，「高等法院應給予陳有公平的機會為自己辯護，然而, 如果不停止羈押,這將會非常困難」。 民進黨，這個陳水扁幾乎服務了整個政治生涯的政黨，上週六說「希望二審不要重複一審時眾多違反正當程序的缺陷與糾紛」。)







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