A LIFE sentence for Chen Shui-bian might seem justice of sorts.
Only his most fervent supporters still imagine he had not
embezzled or taken bribes while in office. Meanwhile, the
conviction of even a former president might be seen as a mark of
maturity in Taiwan’s young democracy: in 2000 Mr Chen made
history by dislodging the Nationalists, the KMT, from power.
And yet. Now that the KMT is back under President Ma Ying-jeou,
there is a vindictiveness in the prosecution of a man they
loathe, not least for his advocacy of Taiwanese independence.
After the Taipei District Court allowed Mr Chen to remain free
following his indictment last year, the three-judge panel was
changed, and the new lot ruled that since Mr Chen might flee, he
should remain in jail. There he was allowed only a 30-minute
prison visit a day, separated from his guest by thick glass. No
else indicted but not sentenced for corruption sits in a
Taiwanese jail. Mr Ma, when he was similarly indicted in early
2007, remained free. He was later foun