台灣今天三罷失敗，在國內雖然已經是預料中的事，各家電視台的版面跟前幾次比可說小了很多，但CNN、BBC仍是以即時新聞報導，不過看來看去最有趣的也最有深度的是前鋒論壇報今天的這則新聞，文中說台灣年輕的民主像一場鬧劇也像一場熱寫激進的運動，有醜聞、有暴行、有謊言、有羞辱，整個就是一場大混亂。但文中也把台灣的現況和伊拉克宗教血腥衝突以及泰國後政變時期的半鬧劇鄉比較，認為台灣跟他們不一樣之處，在於我們還對這脆弱的政治體制存有信心，相信靠著「體制」終究能解決問題，雖然對於眼前所看到的情況可能並不滿意。
文中很深入的介紹台灣目前政治紛擾的來龍去脈，以及12月將舉行的選舉、各大案子即將開庭審理的時程等，算是相當好的一篇報導，而且把台灣、伊拉克、泰國相比較，這個角度的確是缺乏國際觀的台灣人所難以看到的。
Taiwan's young democracy tested in a comic-opera battle
TAIPEI: At times, Taiwanese politics is a blend of opera and blood sport, and this is one of those times. Scandal and outrage, lying and humiliation - all of it messy and delivered in a loud, public fashion - are consuming political life here, as a virtual death watch has settled over the second term of President Chen Shui-bian.
Prosecutors have implicated Chen in a scandal involving fake receipts and are planning to put his wife on trial next month. The opposition Nationalist Party is salivating over Chen's troubles yet facing its own scandal - prosecutors are investigating the receipts of the party's presumptive 2008 presidential candidate.
Taiwan's partisan newspapers have been filled with so many suggestive details - a Tiffany's diamond ring that was called ill-gotten, to name one - that the acrimony has obscured the more elemental issue that the island's young democracy is being tested as democracy is suffering some notable stumbles elsewhere in the world.
The difference in Taiwan, compared to the bloody sectarian tragedy in Iraq and the post-coup semicomedy of Thailand, is that many people here believe the fragile political system is working, even if the spectacle is not pleasant to watch.
"In 10 years, when we look back, this could be a turning point for Taiwan's democracy to become mature," said Emile Sheng, a political science professor at Soochow University. "Right now, it is a disgrace and it is quite humiliating. But once we get past this, I think Taiwan's politics will get a lot cleaner."
Politically, Taiwan's symbolic power has always been as a democratic counterpoint to China. But democracy in Taiwan remains a work in progress that has been repeatedly tested during Chen's tenure. The pivotal recent event came Nov. 3 when a Taipei prosecutor indicted his wife and also announced that Chen, immune from prosecution as president, could face charges after he leaves office. For a judicial branch regarded as a weak constitutional pillar, it was a historic moment.
"This is very hard evidence that at last we have a fair and independent- minded judicial branch," said Hwang Yih-jiau, an opposition legislator with the People First Party and a critic of the president. "The principle of separation of power has taken root in Taiwan."
Equally important, many analysts say that the intense news media and prosecutorial focus on government accounts, and on how elected officials use them, will bring more sunshine into the system. "I think members of future first families will be a lot more careful," said Chao Chien-min, a political analyst at a Taipei research institute.
For the immediate future, though, Taiwan's political scene will remain in turmoil. On Friday, the Legislature will vote on a bill that would authorize a nationwide recall referendum against Chen, although it is not expected to win the required two-thirds majority. On Dec. 7, mayoral races in Taiwan's two largest cities, Taipei and Kaohsiung, will serve as barometers of the public mood toward Chen and his Democratic Progressive Party.
And then there is the unprecedented Dec. 15 corruption trial against his wife, Wu Shu-jen. Chen has said he would leave office if his wife were to be convicted. Her trial will focus on the roughly $424,000 the couple collected from an executive "state affairs" fund after submitting personal receipts gathered from friends and family. Chen has admitted initially lying to prosecutors about the receipts. But he has since explained on television that the receipts were a bookkeeping necessity that enabled him to use state money for secret diplomacy, for which there are no receipts.
His defenders note that before Chen took office in 2000, presidents were not required to submit receipts to use such discretionary funds. They say prosecutors presented no evidence that Chen used any of the money for personal gain.
The defenders also say that Taiwan's international isolation, defined by its tense coexistence with China, makes confidentiality essential when a president wants to engage in diplomacy.
"Only the Taiwanese people and politicians can understand the importance of keeping things completely confidential," said Hsiao Bi-khim, a Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker who is an ally of Chen's.
His critics, though, say the receipts scandal is just the latest example of what they describe as pattern of corruption by the first family.
This summer, prosecutors charged Chen's son-in-law with insider trading in a case that is still pending. Chen's wife has already been investigated - and cleared - of wrongdoing after she received gift certificates from a department store seeking government approval for a change of ownership.
With so much baggage, Chen's secret diplomacy excuse in the receipts scandal has rung hollow to critics and much of the public. Polls place the president's approval ratings at record lows. The scandal also has focused public attention on Chen's marriage, as several lawmakers have questioned the scruples of the first lady. She grew up as a doctor's daughter while Chen was dirt poor.
Early in Chen's political career, Wu was paralyzed after being struck by a car during a political rally. The police ruled it an accident, but many people in the Democratic Progressive Party believe it was an assassination attempt against Chen.
As first lady, Wu has attracted whispers for her penchant for luxury. One of the receipts in the scandal was for a Tiffany's diamond ring valued at more than $30,000. Newspapers have reported that a Taiwanese sea cargo company had originally given jeweled watches to Chen's son for his wedding. But the family had returned the watches for a ring reportedly fitted for Wu.
Elected officials are allowed to accept gifts in Taiwan, but the ring has angered some of Chen's allies because the sea cargo company had business with the state.
