The Kaohsiung branch of the High Court yesterday ruled that state compensation should be paid for the accidental death of a Chinese tourist, as citizens of the People’s Republic of China are regarded as Republic of China (ROC) nationals under the law.
The Kaohsiung City Government should pay NT$4.63 million (US$152,283) to the family of the man, surnamed Qian (錢), the court said.
The ruling can be appealed.
Photo: Pao Chien-hsin, Taipei Times
Qian was electrocuted to death by a malfunctioning street light while cycling in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹) during a round-the-island biking tour in August 2018 — a fact that the city government does not dispute.
The family sued the city for wrongful death and demanded NT$11.65 million in compensation for pain and suffering, loss of income, funeral costs and other expenses.
Foreign nationals can receive reparations for government negligence resulting in death or injury if a reciprocal arrangement exists between Taiwan and their country of origin, the branch’s first civil court president Ning Hsin (甯馨) said, citing the State Compensation Act (國家賠償法).
The claims made by the deceased’s family would have been rejected, as there is no reciprocal agreement between the Taiwanese and Chinese governments, but the laws accord a special legal status to the latter, she said, referring to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
The court requested clarification about the State Compensation Act in reference to the Qian case from the Ministry of Justice and the Mainland Affairs Council, which issued an official statement saying Chinese citizens are deemed ROC nationals under the law, Ning said.
As such, the court ruled in favor of Qian’s family in accordance with the State Compensation Act, she said.
The Kaohsiung City Government expressed regret over the court’s ruling and said officials would mull its next step after receiving the verdict.
The Kaohsiung Legal Affairs Bureau said it had appealed the first trial’s favorable verdict for Qian’s family on the grounds that, as the deceased was not Taiwanese, the state compensation law did not apply.
The bureau respects the court’s decision and would discuss the matter with the Kaohsiung Public Works Bureau, it said.
The Ministry of Justice said its clarification for the court was made according to the Council of Grand Justices’ Decision No. 16337 1993, which allows state compensation claims to be made for wrongful death or injury of people from China.
The ministry has proposed amendments to the State Compensation Act to allow reparation claims to be made for all victims of government negligence regardless of nationality, as placing preconditions on such claims runs counter to international law, it said.
The Executive Yuan approved the draft act in September 2021, but lawmakers have yet to pass the bill, the ministry said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS