Gist of EPW August Week 2, 2022

The Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) is an important source of study material for IAS, especially for the current affairs segment. In this section, we give you the gist of the EPW magazine every week. The important topics covered in the weekly are analyzed and explained in a simple language, all from a UPSC perspective.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Lawless Laws and the Supreme Court
2. Taiwan and the China–US Relations

1. Lawless Laws and the Supreme Court

Lawless Laws:

The core principles of the criminal justice system are the establishment of truth and the imposition of punishment as per the law. The laws that subvert criminal justice by making the process and the punishment irrelevant are referred to as lawless laws.

Prevention of Money Laundering Act and associated concerns:

• Prevention of Money Laundering Act was introduced in 2002 to deal with the issue of terror funding. 
• However, PMLA has been amended several times. Many critics argue that the PMLA has become a lawless law. It is often used to target political opponents and threaten businesspersons. 
• According to the statistics, the Directorate of Enforcement has been able to obtain convictions against only 23 out of the total 5,422 cases. This conviction rate is even less than 0.5%.
• The study thus gives us a hint that the true purpose and nature of the law have been undermined by some vested interests.
• PMLA is often seen as a contempt of the due process of Law and the rule of Law, similar to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPSA), 1985, and the anti-terror laws like Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002, etc.
• These laws tamper with the most fundamental concepts like natural justice and the fairness underlying the Constitution as well as the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1974.
• These laws place the burden of proof of establishing innocence on the accused and even deny bail.

Role of Judiciary:

• The Supreme Court’s judgment in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v Union of India (2022) has highlighted the judiciary’s role in undermining the core values of the criminal justice system. The points of concern in the recent judgment are:
  • The court has expanded the scope of the act to even include harmless activities like simple possession of the tainted fund, even without knowing whether proceeds were actually laundered or not.
  • The provision of bail is denied in PMLA, in contrast to that of those convicted under murder charges. Moreover, the provision of extrajudicial confessions which are otherwise available in various heinous offences is not provided in PMLA.
  • In the Vijay Madanlal Chaudhary case, Supreme Court has shown laxity in ensuring civil rights and the rule of Law.

For more information on Vijay Madanlal Choudhary’s case, read here: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. Aug 3rd, 2022 CNA. Download PDF?

Conclusion

• Though Supreme Court has defended the citizen’s rights in the past through the process of judicial review, in the recent case of Vijay Madanlal Choudhary these rights have been disregarded.
• However, there is a scope that the wrongs of the PMLA can be corrected in the pending case of using a “money bill” to reform the act. The case is pending under the seven-judge constitutional bench.

2. Taiwan and the China–US Relations

Introduction:

China-US relations are under stress because of some recent events like:

• Visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the United States to Taiwan.
• Military exercises by the Chinese military in the waters surrounding Taiwan

For more information on the Speaker’s visit, read here:

UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. Aug 6th, 2022 CNA. Download PDF

China-US-Taiwan relation:

• Taiwan shares an adequate amount of business and economic linkages with mainland China. Both China and Hong Kong are Taiwan’s largest trading partners.
• Taiwan has been a source of tension between the United States and China for a very long time. 
• China considers Taiwan to be its territory and has reiterated multiple times that it can also use force, if necessary, to prohibit Taiwan from declaring independence. 
• On the other hand, Washington considers Taiwan to be a geopolitical tool against the rising power of China.
• However, the United States of America recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the only legal government of China. But it also maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan.
• The speaker’s recent visit to the island has once again infuriated China, eventhough the US Department of State reiterated its earlier stand on the “One China Policy”.
• It has further distanced Taiwan from mainland China, making the former vulnerable to Chinese aggression.

For more information on China-Taiwan relations, read here: China vs Taiwan: RSTV – Big Picture Discussion for UPSC exam

Past experience:

• A similar incident took place twenty-five years ago when the then House speaker visited Taiwan. The reason for the visit was to inform that the Chinese acceptance of capitalism, should not be associated with the abandonment of the United States from the Taiwan issue.
• Even though China was apprehensive of the visit, the case was not a serious matter back then because:
  • Chinese military strength was not very strong.
  • US Navy focused more on the Atlantic ocean.
  • China was a young and underdeveloped economy.
  • The US was keen to import cheap goods from China.
• Moreover, in another incident, in 1978 the Chinese government (under Mao Zedong) launched an artillery blockade on the island just to observe the American response. However, there were other reasons also to engage in a conflict with Taiwan. They were:
  • To galvanize citizens for the Great Leap Forward. 
  • To manage the domestic politics of China.

Conclusion

• It is observed that Taiwan has well received the message that in the turf war between the two superpowers of the world, Taiwan might get crushed.
• Many scholars are of the view that Taiwan’s situation is very much similar to Ukraine which is presently suffering because of the geopolitical aims of the other two superpowers.
• In all this geopolitical gimmick, India has played wisely and decided to distance itself from the tiny turf battle between China and the US.
• The geopolitics and the military tactics that are employed in the region need to be closely watched for foreign diplomacy and the security of the Indo-pacific.

Read previous EPW articles in the link.

Gist of EPW August Week 2, 2022:- Download PDF Here