Letter From the Office of President Ma Ying Jeou

  A few days ago I got a reply from the office of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou. It was a pleasant surprise to receive a response, but as it turned out it amounts to not much more than the typical bureaucratic response when a government official receives a complaint from an ordinary citizen or resident. Even more disappointing is the lack of courtesy & business letter etiquette by the writer who didn't even sign his or her name. 

  Perhaps it could even be the writer's attempt to evade responsibility as so often happens here. Frequently, when I've spoken to some government official or staffer and asked for their name, they either avoid answering or hurriedly say something like "Ms. Chen" or "Mr. Chang".

  At least, I got a good chuckle out of these two parts of the letter:

"...we are a nation based on democracy and rule of law" and "as such the Office of the President must respect the statutory duties of each government agency." If ever President Ma or his staff had the courtesy or guts - anyone here could "man up" - to actually talk to me I'd like to ask just which divine law is it that prohibits and excludes me from speaking in court and presenting evidence that proves my innocence. The president's office, like almost all government bodies here, talks the talk but fails to walk the walk.

  As I've experienced again and again, rule of law here is a highly subjective, nebulous and elastic concept that is subverted, twisted, and manipulated to suit the tastes and objectives of whoever possesses the authority to implement or enforce the law in question. Human rights, legal rights, conformity to the international covenants signed by Taiwan become secondary to the whims of the government, the judiciary and others with power and/or influence.

  Here is the letter from the Office of President Ma: