Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday pledged to launch judicial reforms that would protect human rights and the public interest if elected in January.
However, at a press conference to unveil the DPP presidential candidate’s judicial policy, the media seemed more interested in her opinions on several high profile and controversial cases than her plans for judicial reform.
Tsai chose to sidestep reporters’ questions about whether she would pardon former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence, if she becomes president.
The 54-year-old made it clear she would not comment on individual cases, particularly ongoing ones, saying that would be a violation of judicial independence.
Tsai said she was most interested in to what extent the media and political forces exerted influenced over the judiciary and whether the judicial system was able to stay truly independent.
The president should take the lead in judiciary reform, and she would not shy away from that responsibility, Tsai said, adding that she would organize a national conference — the first of its kind since 1999 — by December next year to lay out a roadmap for reform.
“It requires a political process before judiciary reform can take place and that is why the president has to be involved,” she said.
Tsai’s approach is very different from that of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who has always said that the president must remain aloof so as to preserve judicial independence.
Tsai also envisions a “judicial system of the people,” which means public participation would increase, accessibility would improve and the rights of people would be protected.
The appointment, dismissal and evaluation of judicial officials should also be institutionalized and given a legal framework, she said.
Tsai’s campaign maintains that the president’s primary role is to frame a “grand plan” and work on systematic reform, but to stay out of individual cases, said Wellington Koo (顧立雄), an attorney on Tsai’s policy consultation team.
The teaching of law in Taiwan should also be improved, because Taiwanese remain far more interested in the final verdicts than procedural justice and the protection of human rights, he said.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS