The Ministry of Justice yesterday said that it was considering changes to prison policies, especially those regarding inmates’ families, to better rehabilitate prisoners and facilitate their reintegration into society after their release or parole.
The possible reforms include changes to prison facilities, making the parole process more transparent, introducing familial support, increasing the number of rehabilitation volunteers and helping inmates gain skill certificates, Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三).
Agency of Corrections Director Huang Chun-tang (黃俊棠) said overcrowding in prisons would be addressed by expansion projects for Taipei Prison, Taoyuan Prison, Second Yunlin Prison and Bade Prison in Taoyuan.
Photo: Chien Lee-chung, Taipei Times
The expansions are to accommodate a total of 4,755 prisoners in 2.31m2 cells with individual beds, he said.
Taipei Prison has 51 cellblocks, each about 19m2 to 26m2, meaning that with 16 inmates per block, each prisoner has only 1.65m2 of space, Huang said.
The expansion projects aim to eliminate overcrowding in prisons for at least four years, Chiu said.
More volunteers would be sought to carry out and improve the efficiency of individual and group rehabilitation efforts, the Ministry of Justice said.
In an effort to maintain familial relations — a key component to aid the reintegration of inmates into society — the ministry is to launch a project in which prisoners record stories for their children aged six or younger, it said.
The recordings would be made available for inmates’ family members and social welfare groups to help children cope with their fathers not being present, the ministry said, adding that the program would later be expanded to female inmates.
A number of academics and experts have been consulted in the drafting of new parole approval criteria, Chiu said.
The severity of the crime, the risk of an inmate repeating the offense and their attitude and performance during imprisonment are to be factors taken into consideration when parole applications are reviewed, he said.
The ministry said it is considering turning the current review method — in which victims and general members of the public are asked to review parole applications — into an alternative process, in which victims and social representatives would be asked to weigh in on applications via telephone or video conference.
The ministry is to allocate NT$70 million (US$2.3 million) annually to the corrections agency to have companies and organizations, such as Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) or Rotary International, offer courses at the prison or at alternative locations, it said.
The courses would cover more than 26 specialties, including stacker operation, baking, carpentry, pottery, electrical wiring and digital drawing, to teach inmates skills they could use to find employment upon their release or parole, the ministry said.
Correctional facilities must not only render just punishment to those who have broken the law, but also proactively re-educate them and ensure their smooth reintegration into society, Chiu said.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS