Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislators yesterday called for the public to respect the independence of the judicary and prosecutors.
DPP Legislator Chang Chun-hsiung (
"We, however, have seen some people mention specific names and criticize cases in progress and even point out what direction the investigation should go," Chang said at a press conference.
TSU Legislator Kuo Lin-yung (
Kuo, however, said pressure from the media, the legislature, civic groups and others has insidiously threatened an independent judiciary.
Kuo said lawmakers should focus on reviewing government budgets, questioning public officials and drawing up bills instead of exploiting legislative interrogation to address certain cases.
DPP Legislator You Ching (尤清) said that some lawmakers abuse their privilege of free speech by making allegations without giving any evidence, which may further confuse the public about an investigation or a trial.
"We decided to start with ourselves. As legislators, we hope we can work together to curb interference with the judiciary in legislative meetings," You said, adding that the media should also uphold its "Fourth Estate rights" when covering investigations or trials.
Although Chang and his colleagues said they did not call yesterday's press conference to address "any specific case," it came just two days after a Judiciary Committee meeting in which Minister of Justice Morley Shih (施茂林) was questioned by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators over the Taiwan Development Corp insider trading case and Sogo case.
KMT Legislator Kao Su-po (高思博), the committee's chairman, dismissed DPP legislators' concerns during Monday's meeting that questioning Shih amounted to trying to influence the judicial system.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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