Transitional justice refers to redressing, following a transition to democracy, unjust treatment or persecution that came as a result of political oppression during an authoritarian era and an attempt to compensate the victims, condemn the perpetrators and reveal the truth. Taiwan’s democratization began more than 20 years ago, but the implementation of transitional justice has been very slow. About four-fifths of the victims have died and most survivors are in their 80s or older. Elderly and ailing, there is not much they can do. The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) legislative caucus has proposed a draft bill on the promotion of transitional justice that includes disposing of inappropriately obtained party assets. However, opposition to the draft has grown due to its complexity and it is hard to know when it will be passed. Even if it is passed smoothly, the nomination of members for a transitional justice commission must be approved by the legislature and the commission must submit a report about implementation measures within two years of its establishment. If laws must be written or amended, lawmakers must propose new bills in a second round of legislation and the whole process is expected to take more than four years. Is this kind of legislation in line with justice?
Instead of waiting the nation should learn from other nations and use an omnibus bill to replace the draft with a comprehensive transitional justice promotion act.
The comprehensive act would integrate dedicated chapters on all the laws the legislature plans to write or amend, and it should be reviewed and passed article by article by the legislature.
Existing laws to be amended under the act — such as the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), the Archives Act (檔案法), the Act Governing the Recovery of Damage of Individual Rights during the Period of Martial Law (戒嚴時期人民受損權利回復條例), the Organizational Act of the Executive Yuan (行政院組織法) and the Civil Code (民法) — should be passed individually during the legislative review.
The amendment or annulment of acts would be the content of the omnibus act. Therefore, it would regulate the changes in the same way that the input regulates the output in computer software, so that, in this case, legal amendments take effect as the omnibus law is passed.
Omnibus acts are drafted to prevent various laws from conflicting with each other. On a shared legislative basis, laws that should be altered are bundled in a package. Since it integrates the stipulation and amendment of several laws into one act, it is often called “package legislation.”
An omnibus act is that it highlights the purpose of legislative policy, maintains the integrity of the legal order and finishes the related legislative works simultaneously.
When the Cabinet in 1996 submitted an omnibus bill to the legislature for review — including an amendment to some of the articles related to the Republic of China’s accession to the WTO — it intended to adopt this method for the first time, but it was withdrawn due to opposition from lawmakers who were unfamiliar with the method. The issue was resolved through party caucus negotiations.
President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has said that “Taiwan must grasp this unique chance to carry out transitional justice.” There is no doubt the adoption of an omnibus bill would be wise terms of communicating the intent of transitional justice act to the victims, relatives, civic groups, experts and academics and increasing legislative efficiency.
Lo Chuan-hsien is an adjunct professor in the Department of Law at Central Police University and a former director-general of the Legislative Yuan’s Legislative Bureau.
Translated by Eddy Chang
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing