(A) Giving priority to getting off duty on time

A rape victim said police authorities made several requests by phone for a female prosecutor to begin collecting evidence after they detained a suspect, but the police had to release him after the request was turned down.

The prosecutor said that in such cases action is usually taken upon receipt of a written request. In addition, she was about to go off duty, she said.

The victim accused the prosecutor of being "cold blooded" and no less despicable than the rapist.

Sex offenders tend to be frequent recidivists. If they are released and the evidence is randomly destroyed, they will be encouraged to repeat their crimes.

This is why the collection of evidence is crucial in such cases.

If the female prosecutor's priority is getting off work on time, she should be transferred to someplace other that a prosecutors' office, as she will hinder the work of catching criminals within the crucial timeframe.

(B)Support formulation of political party law

Political parties are civic groups, but their operations can affect the formulation and execution of major policies.

In the West, political parties serve to mobilize the voters in an election campaign, but they have little influence over policies.

They also have no party assets problems and are governed by general laws instead of a specific law.

But in Taiwan and South Korea, the influence of political parties over policies is stronger.

If there is rampant vote-buying within a party, not only will it influence policy but it will also indirectly encourage bribery of all elected officials.

Vote-buying of one party will not be confined only to that party but will have ramifications. For this reason, a political party law should be formulated to govern not only elections, but also party assets, political donations and avoidance of conflicts of interest.

UNITED DAILY NEWS: Concerted action needed to prevent property speculation The governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of China, Perng Fai-nan, recently warned of a possible overheating of the housing market.

Unreasonable property prices have long been a problem reflecting a string of structural phenomena. This problem cannot be solved by means of the monetary policy orchestrated by Perng, but rather will require concerted action from various sectors.

The rapid increase in house prices over the past few months and the market's concentration in specific areas and products may not be healthy. Even as Taiwan's overall housing transactions have decreased, however, more and more upscale properties are being sold in Greater Taipei.

Against this background, the government will have to take steps to ensure that the situation does not get worse for buyers.

Right now, the focus should be on preventing property speculation. By giving reasonable property estimates and lowering housing loan ceilings, the government could achieve the goals of tightening housing loans and cooling the real estate market.

Other measures could include limiting the sale of public land.

Related government agencies should also put their heads together to integrate resources for house purchase subsidies for the underprivileged before the well-intentioned subsidy measures cause disaster by saddling consumers with housing loans they cannot afford to service.

CHINA TIMES:

KMT's integrity needs more than declaration by Ma

Some people believe that changing the head of a political party can help a floundering party to regain its feet. But if the root problem is not solved, it could still mean big trouble ahead.

Past polls have shown that President Ma Ying-jeou is popular with voters because of his image of integrity, a personal trait that has proved to be a magnet for the voters.

From 2005 through 2008, the ruling Kuomintang has won a series of elections on Ma's strength. The party won back political power without making reforms and has since relapsed back into its old ways, with the elections of four KMT legislators invalidated this year because of vote-buying. This clearly indicates that the KMT has not been serious in reforming itself.

Now that Ma's popularity has waned, some might want to change the party's leader for a new and fresher image, but they should remember that it is difficult to find, but easy to destroy a political figure.

Voters will also not accept a capricious political party.

Basically, what the KMT needs to do is forego its old vote-buying practices for real reforms if it wants to become a normal political party.

LIBERTY TIMES: Economic pact with China will benefit a few but make majority go to hell

Since Hong Kong was turned over to the rule of China in 1997, it has looked prosperous on the surface, but has in fact seen a widening gap between the rich and poor.

Recent reports by CNN had revealed the truth about Hong Kong: the big difference between the rich and poor in Hong Kong is like hell and paradise.

The Ma administration has tried to paint a rosy picture of what will happen after Taiwan signs an economic cooperation framework agreement with China, without regard to the opposition's repeated warnings.

Those who support Taiwan's economic cooperation framework agreement with China often cited the figures of how many folds the stock and housing markets in Hong Kong had increased after it signed the closer economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with China.

But one must ask the question of who are the beneficiaries and who are the victims. Hong Kong bourse and real estate markets did surge after the CEPA, but only a few have benefited from it, and most of the others have seen their working conditions deteriorate rapidly. Do Taiwanese people want to duplicate such a miserable scenario in Taiwan? (By Lilian Wu)