What Crime for Despising the People?

The Storm Media Editorial, May 31, 2024

 

Amid protests over the Legislative Yuan’s expansion of powers, an offshoot case involving the "Bluebird Movement" emerged. On May 27, during the SET TV program "New Taiwan Go Go Go", Wang Yi-chuan, policy director of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), revealed that he had obtained mobile phone location data analysis from the "Bluebird Movement" to determine the age groups of the participating crowds. This data was then compared with the "519 Grassroots Determination Movement" held by the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) on May 19, as well as the crowd flow on the eve of the January 13 presidential and legislative elections. After causing an uproar, he tried to justify it by claiming that the "mobile phone signaling data analysis method" was also used by local governments for large-scale events and major tourist attractions to conduct big data analysis.

 

"Surveillance Capitalism" in Democratic Taiwan Becomes a Reality

 

This incident sparked a public uproar, even overshadowing the "Bluebird Movement." The reason lies in the fact that the DPP administration, which prides itself on Taiwan being a "democratic country"—a sentiment echoed by President Lai Ching-te in his May 20 speech lauding Taiwan as the "MVP of the democratic world" —is now being revealed to be quite the opposite. Instead, it resembles a real-life enactment of "The Truman Show" or the emergence of "Surveillance Capitalism" described by Harvard University scholar Shoshana Zuboff–a mode of operation in which commercial technology monopolies and the government in power collaborate to betray democracy and comprehensively control society.

 

If one watched Wang's self-assured appearance on the program repeatedly, then it becomes evident that the DPP administration’s key officials were brimming with satisfaction over their "Bluebirds," arrogantly spewing statements to their "die-hard" supporters in front of television, proclaiming their "complete victory" in political power.

 

DPP Needs to Launch a “Rescue Wang 2.0” Campaign

 

The DPP, which once initiated the "Save Wang Yi-chuan" campaign, now finds itself too late to stop the trouble caused by Wang’s words. Apart from Spokesman Wu Cheng still trying to come up with excuses to "defend" him, even the National Police Administration of the Ministry of the Interior, and his former superior, incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung, are distancing themselves from him. Both the Kuomintang-controlled (KMT) New Taipei City Government and the DPP-controlled Tainan City Government have clarified that they only used "de-identified" statistical data from Chunghwa Telecom. Additionally, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office and the National Communication Commission (NCC) have also begun investigations within their respective jurisdictions.

 

In fact, the implementation of the real-name registration system during the pandemic for text messages had already raised doubts among the public about the potential misuse of personal data. On March 19, 2020, CommonWealth Magazine published a report stating that Chunghwa Telecom assisted the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Ministry of Health and Welfare, in linking the base station signals of Taiwan's five major mobile operators. This allowed direct monitoring of the mobile phone locations of those under home isolation or home quarantine. By triangulating the phone and base station signals, the historical footprints of confirmed cases could be traced. The telecom operators even claimed that the system had been expanded to monitor over 100,000 people at that time.

 

The right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel once announced that he would emulate Taiwan's "National Team for Technological Pandemic Prevention" approach. But he also admitted that such technology might infringe on privacy. We must ask: Is the mobile phone data analysis that Wang boasted about actually the result of the "National Team for Technological Pandemic Prevention" transforming into the DPP administration's "National Team for Monitoring the People" after the pandemic?

 

In September 2021, the Statistics Department, Ministry of the Interior, released a report titled "The Establishment, Analysis and Application of Telecommunication Signaling Statistics," which clearly stated that there were "absolutely no concerns about personal data disclosure." So where exactly did the age comparisons of crowd flows that Wang mentioned come from? How was Wang able to confidently "boast" about seeing "non-de-identified" personal information on a political talk show right after the rally took place?

 

Liu Ching-yi, director of the Graduate Institute of National Development Institute, National Taiwan University, questioned on her Facebook, "Having a basis and facts does not necessarily mean it's legal and constitutional." Don't these concerns of potential illegality and unconstitutionality from the people need to be explained and accounted for by officials of the DPP administration?

 

"Contempt for the People" Mentality: Greatest Irony for Taiwan's Democracy

 

While public opinion in Taiwan mocks the notion of "border mobile phone checks" in mainland China, what they should truly be concerned about is whether the rulers of this "democratic society" of Taiwan are cloaking themselves in the guise of "democracy" while in reality surveilling the people? And when party and government officials conduct "digital management" of rally crowds, what legal basis grants them the legitimacy and legality to do so?

 

If Wang cannot clarify these issues, and if the DPP administration cannot provide a clear explanation, how can they criticize the parliamentary reform bill pushed by the KMT and TPP as a "black box operation" and "expansion of power"? Isn't using "untraceable" mobile data to analyze the backgrounds of crowds also a form of "black box operation" and " expansion of power" that undermines and tramples on "democracy?"

 

Treating the people as political mobilization tools to be "summoned and dismissed" at will, and using surveillance to extinguish the autonomy and agency that people should have in a democratic society, reflects the rulers' deep-seated mentality of "You are the people, I am the master." This is blatant contempt for the people! Supporters of the Bluebird Movement held up signs saying "I despise the Parliament" outside the Legislative Yuan, while DPP officials exhibited an attitude of "I despise the people" on television programs – the greatest irony of Taiwan's democracy!

 

On May 28, the Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of the "Partial Amendments to the Criminal Code," adding contempt of parliament as a crime. It stipulates that officials who make false statements during legislative hearings or interpellation against important matters that they are aware of shall be subject to imprisonment of up to one year, detention, or a fine of up to NT$200,000 (about U$6,180). One must ask, what is the punishment for contempt of the people?

 

From: https://www.storm.mg/article/5140690?mode=whole

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