Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) proposed referendum on punishment for politicians and government officials charged with obstruction of justice was criticized yesterday by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) .
“Of all the people, Ma is the most unsuited and the least qualified person to lead this referendum proposal. When Ma was in power, he repeatedly interfered in the nation’s judicial system and manipulated judiciary officials,” Ker said at a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.
“Ma’s intent is to use the referendum as a ‘loincloth’ to shield his guilt and his many wrongdoings,” Ker said, adding that Ma was not only looking to cover up previous illegal activities, but also trying to direct current officials in the judiciary.
Ma and his lawyer, C.V. Chen (陳長文), are the leading proponents of the referendum proposal, which was approved by the Central Election Committee last month.
The proposal, dubbed the “anti-obstruction of criminal justice” referendum, would seek punishment for presidents, lawmakers, Control Yuan members and other high-ranking officials who directly or indirectly pressured, lobbied or improperly influenced members of the judiciary to obtain a favorable court ruling for themselves or others.
Ker cited several examples of Ma’s alleged interference with the judiciary.
“Ma told then prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) on August 31, 2013, to report on wiretap findings to the legislature. Huang had been investigating myself and [then-legislative speaker] Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), and had approved the wiretapping,” Ker said.
Huang was convicted for leaking classified information and breaching personal privacy protection and surveillance laws, Ker said.
Ma was indicted on charges stemming from the case, which created the “September Strife” on Sept. 6, 2013, he said.
“I later found out that Special Investigation Unit had installed wiretaps to listen in on all of my telephone conversations, 24-hours a day. They had people working shifts around-the-clock, conducting extensive and detailed surveillance on me,” he said.
DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang’s (段宜康) mockery of Ma’s proposal drew laughter and amused looks from committee members and attending officials.
“I disagree with my DPP colleagues,” Tuan said. “We should not stop Ma from proposing a referendum on punishment for politicians and government officials who obstruct justice. It is actually Ma’s way of confessing, of admitting his guilt for the numerous times that he has interfered with the judiciary.”
Lawmakers should provide for cases to be examined retroactively when discussing proposed referendum so that Ma’s efforts to own up to his own wrongdoings would not be in vain, as litigation is ongoing in several of Ma’s cases, Tuan said.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we