The Control Yuan yesterday impeached former Transitional Justice Commission deputy chairman Chang Tien-chin (張天欽) for allegedly breaching administrative neutrality by plotting against a political opponent.
Proposed by Control Yuan members Gau Fehng-shian (高鳳仙) and Yang Mei-ling (楊美鈴), the impeachment was unanimously passed and has been forwarded to the Judicial Yuan’s Public Functional Disciplinary Sanction Commission for review, the Control Yuan said.
In interviews on Aug. 22 and 23 last year, Chang said that the commission would launch a draft bill to investigate perpetrators of crimes during the White Terror era, such as prosecutors, judges and intelligence personnel, despite knowing that the commission had no plans for such a bill, the Control Yuan said.
Photo: CNA
In a meeting with five other commission members on Aug. 24 last year, Chang also confirmed a report that he was targeting then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate for New Taipei City mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜).
A former police officer, Hou’s involvement in the death of democracy advocate Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕) — who died in April 1989 when he set himself alight after being besieged by police — is the nastiest example of why transitional justice is needed, Chang said at the time.
It would be a pity if Hou’s involvement in the authoritarian regime was not used against him, Chang said, adding that the commission should act as a Dong Chang (東廠), a Ming Dynasty secret police and spy agency.
The commission should also “feed” information to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators on the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statues Committee, Chang told other commission members.
An audio recording of Chang’s statements was leaked to the media by a commission member. Hou was elected New Taipei City mayor in November last year.
Chang contravened administrative neutrality and spread misinformation, dealing a serious blow to the commission’s reputation and credibility, the Control Yuan said, adding that his actions were a serious dereliction of duty.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS