Lawmakers yesterday approved the Executive Yuan’s nomination of Transitional Justice Commission Acting Chairwoman Yang Tsui (楊翠) to head the agency, as well as the nominations for seven commission members.
Former commission member Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈) is to serve as deputy chairwoman, while commission member Peng Jen-yu (彭仁郁) is to retain her post.
The new members of the commission are Judicial Reform Foundation executive director Chen Yu-fan (陳雨凡), National Chengchi University professor Frank Wang (王增勇), National Taiwan Normal University associate professor Lin Chia-fan (林佳範), Chung Yuan Christian University associate professor Hsu Wei-chun (徐偉群) and National Dong Hwa University associate professor Awi Mona.
Photo: CNA
All eight nominations were approved 72-0. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus boycotted the vote and later held a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to denounce Yang’s appointment.
Yang’s grandfather, Yang Kui (楊逵), was an author who was arrested during the Japanese colonial era, after the 228 Incident and during the White Terror era, KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said, adding that his legacy in Taiwan’s democracy should not be overlooked.
However, Lin Wei-chou questioned the appropriateness of Yang Tsui serving as the commission’s chairwoman.
Citing the killing of railway police officer Lee Cheng-han (李承翰) last year by a man surnamed Cheng (鄭), who was found not guilty due to mental illness, Lin Wei-chou asked whether it would be appropriate for Lee’s relatives to sit on a lay judge appellate bench trying Cheng.
Yang Tsui should have declined the nomination to avoid a conflict of interest, he said.
KMT Legislator Wu I-ding (吳怡玎) said that Yang Tsui in October last year told the legislature that she could accomplish the commission’s mission before its term expired this month, only to contradict herself six months later by becoming its chairwoman.
She called on Yang Tsui to clarify what the commission seeks to accomplish over the next 12 months.
KMT Legislator Charles Chen (陳以信) said that the KMT caucus is working on an amendment to Article 11 of the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), which gives the premier authority to extend the life of the commission in one-year increments if it has not completed its mission, to prevent the ruling party from using it as a “pork barrel” agency.
KMT caucus vice secretary-general Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said that Chen Yu-fan, a former New Power Party member, was “negotiated out” of the Jan. 11 legislative elections, ceding priority to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hau (許淑華) in the race for Taipei’s Xinyi-Southern Songshan electoral district.
Chen Yu-fan’s nomination could have been the result of a quid pro quo arrangement between her and the DPP, Lin Yi-hua said.
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