The Ministry of Justice yesterday confirmed that the controversial Act for the Control and Punish-ment of Banditry (懲治盜-穇屭?, better known as the "Bandit law," is soon to be abolished.
The decision was made at a special cross-ministerial meeting coordinated by the justice ministry yesterday.
Before abolishing the act, the ministry is to incorporate some elements of the law into other sections of the Criminal Code, according to officials at the ministry's department of prosecutorial affairs.
Before making the decision, the officials said, the ministry consulted the Judicial Yuan, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of National Defense, among others, about abolishing the act.
The defense ministry had apparently emphasized the need to retain provisions of the act covering forcible occupation of military areas and stealing or destroying military assets.
Many legal experts have argued that the law, enacted in 1944 during the civil war in China, lapsed a long time ago.
They cite a sunset clause that requires an annual renewal to keep the law in effect.
Since then, the law has not been renewed on several occasions, with the first lapse taking place in 1945.
Human rights activists have also lobbied for the act's abolishment, pointing out that some of its provisions violate universal human rights.
Probably the most controversial aspect of the act is that many of the crimes punishable under it carry mandatory death sen-tences, and yet so much of the criteria for prosecution under the act is wide-ranging and vague.
The act jumped back into the public's consciousness recently with the execution of eight death row prisoners who were convicted under it. The executions, which took place on Oct. 7, included the notorious kidnapper, murderer and rapist Chen Chin-hsing (3窄i?).
The only ones left who have been charged under the act but not yet executed are the famous Hsichih Trio.
The three accused in the Hsichih Trio case -- which is believed to be seriously flawed by human rights groups because their convictions were obtained on the basis of confessions which the accused men said were extracted under torture -- were given mandatory death sentences under the act eight years ago.
However, Su Chien-ho (蘇建和), Liu Bin-lang (劉秉-|),and Chuang Lin-hsun (2曭L勳) have been spared to this day due to the justice minister's reluctance to sign their death warrant.
Execution under the act has been a thorny issue for the justice ministry.
In August, the Council of Grand Justices, Taiwan's constitutional review authority, rejected an appeal for a reinterpretation of the validity of the bandit law, referring disputes over its validity to the legislature.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS