President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of December 16 at the Presidential Office met with Professor Jerome A. Cohen of New York University's School of Law. The president, on behalf of the government, extended a warm welcome to Professor Cohen. He also explained to Professor Cohen the government's determination and efforts here to maintain judicial neutrality and democratic rule of law.
In remarks, President Ma commented that Professor Cohen recently has focused his attention on the protection of human rights both in Mainland China and in Taiwan. While Professor Cohen is extremely familiar with officials and scholars from both Taiwan and Mainland China, he has maintained an independent viewpoint throughout his interaction with people from both sides. Despite his work and interests having covered a considerable period of time, Professor Cohen has continued to maintain his own style, which the president said is not an easy accomplishment.
President Ma said that Professor Cohen wrote two articles related to the recent visit to Taiwan made by Chen Yunlin, Chairman of Mainland China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. Professor Cohen expressed his opinions on the handling of the crowd in Taipei that was protesting Chen's visit as well as the charges filed against those for alleged criminal intent. The president said he read the letter that Government Information Office Minister Vanessa Shih penned in reply to the essays. The letter mentioned that prior to the detention of those accused of criminal activity, all were notified as to what they were being charged with, after which they were interrogated or detained. There was nothing inappropriate in this process, he said. As to whether those detained should be kept confinement or incommunicado is a decision that was made by prosecutors and that had to pass scrutiny by the courts. In addition, three justices were seated in each court and issued a verdict in each case, he said. President Ma also expressed his stance on whether the principle of presumption of innocence was violated for those who were detained under serious criminal charges. He said that ROC law stipulates the presumption of innocence and this is in fact used in practice. Some countries provide this, while other countries do not. The president cited two recent examples in which city or county heads were detained but then released after examination of the cases by the court.
President Ma addressed the concern whether authorities overly rely on the method of detention citing concerns of flight or the intent to falsify evidence. He said that if making a comparison of the actual number of people who have been charged and the number detained, figures indicate that authorities have not rampantly used the power to detain people. Of course, whether people should be handcuffed is a matter that can be discussed, the president said, adding that he has personally believed all throughout that the decision whether to handcuff an individual is not directed at any specific person. Instead, the decision is based on considerations associated with the entire case. The president said the Ministry of Justice plans to carry out an examination of practices in this regard.
Professor Cohen said he is very happy to have another opportunity to hold discussions with President Ma. He expressed his appreciation to the president for further expounding on the ROC government's determination and efforts to promote more ideal judicial and criminal procedures. Professor Cohen said he believes that the mutual expressions of goodwill and exchanges between Taiwan and Mainland China are something the American people welcome, and this will lead to positive developments and prosperity between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Professor Cohen cited as one example that he boarded a chartered flight on December 14 that brought him to Taiwan from Beijing. This resulted in considerable savings of time and cost, he said. Professor Cohen also said he desires to see Mainland China reduce the number of missiles it has deployed and aimed at Taiwan. Such action would promote peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, he said. He also urged all sectors to continue to support the democratic development of Taiwan and support President Ma's leadership.