The Disciplinary Court recently ordered that judge Chiang Li-hsiang (姜麗香) of the Shilin District Court be removed from office for covering up a sexual assault case in Taitung County, and that judge Hou Hung-wei (侯弘偉) of the Kaohsiung District Court be removed from office for leaking information about the case to the suspect, surnamed Lin (林).
The two judges are to be transferred from their posts and downgraded to “judicial associate officers” of the same court. They would become regular civil servants, so their annual salaries would be reduced by more than NT$1 million (US$32,522) and their retirement pensions are likely to shrink.
Judges are responsible for making judgements in court. In criminal cases, they are authorized to decide whether a defendant is guilty and on the severity of the penalty. In civil cases, they are authorized to decide whether a party wins or loses a lawsuit. As long as they do not break the law or commit major misconduct, they are protected by the spirit of “trial independence.”
Also, the salaries of judges are much higher than those of regular civil servants, in the hope that they can concentrate on making judgements honestly and justly, so that social justice can prevail.
As for judicial associate officers, their main duty is to assist judges during trials, but they are not authorized to make judgements by themselves.
In this case, the Disciplinary Court found that the two judges’ misconduct were so serious that they were no longer qualified for the job.
It is indeed rare for the court to directly downgrade judges to judicial associate officers.
However, to make the judiciary fit for purpose and ensure greater public trust, the court should have issued heavier punishments, so that it would not be criticized for “much said, but little done.”
The mere job transfers would not only fail to warn other unmindful or even ill-minded judges who are ready to cause trouble, but also exacerbate the problem, as the judiciary’s low reputation is likely to go from bad to worse.
Judges are paid a high salary, which is commensurate with the hard work they are expected to do. Since they are authorized to determine the rights and wrongs of legal cases, they should have a higher standard of accountability and ethics than regular civil servants, and they should be punished more severely in case of major misconduct.
By doing so, Taiwan can uphold the principle of fairness and justice, and save the judiciary’s poor image.
Tien Feng-wen
New Taipei City
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of