The legislature yesterday enacted the Family Proceedings Act (家事事件處理法) to accelerate the pace of trials in family-related cases and protect disadvantaged women and children.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛) said the act was more progressive than similar acts in countries like Japan and Germany, mainly because it allowed for consolidation of trials of related offenses.
As an example, in line with the principle of consolidated trials, in proceedings for divorce, related cases such as child-rearing expenses and child custody may be jointly tried, to save the parties involved time and energy.
At present, trials in family--related cases are governed under the Civil Procedure Code (民事訴訟法) and Non-Contentious Case Act (非訟事件法).
Under the current system, a parent who rears a child after divorce must file a civil lawsuit for any child support that the defendant has failed to pay and must have a family proceedings court decision to force the defendant to pay maintenance.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) said the act was designed to protect the rights and interests of those who are disadvantaged in a marriage.
The act stipulates that proceedings in family courts be held in private and the decisions not be made public, except with the informed consent of all parties involved, Huang said.
Juveniles appearing in courts shall be accompanied by social workers and family courts shall conduct gender equality awareness programs for judges and staff to avoid gender-biased decisions, the act said.
The legislature also approved an amendment to the Consumer Debt Clearance Act (消費者債務清理條例) to ease restrictions on credit card debtors’ ability to negotiate debt settlement with lenders, which could affect about 850,000 credit card debtors who are trying to clear their debts.
Since the act was passed three years ago, only 24 percent of applications for debt repayment negotiations were approved, and only 10 percent of debtors were declared exempt from repaying their debts, DPP Legislator Chen Chieh-ju (陳節如) said.
“The act was not effective to facilitate debt settlements,” Chen said.
In Japan, 82 percent of debt repayment negotiations are approved, and the debt exemption rate for debtors is about 95 percent, Chen said.
KMT Legislator Hsieh Kuo--liang (謝國樑) said that under the amended act, courts shall rule in favor of debtors against banks as long as the debtors have regular incomes and are willing to repay the debts to the best of their abilities.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS