Fingerprints will not be collected when people apply for their new national identification cards until the Council of Grand Justices issues an interpretation of the Household Registration Law (
Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Fan Kuang-chun (范光群) held a press conference yesterday on behalf of the council to announce the justices' decision to issue an interim order temporarily suspending the fingerprint policy until the council can rule on the matter.
According to Articles 8-2 and 8-3 of the law, applicants must provide their fingerprints when applying for the new photo ID cards, due to be issued starting July 1.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
"We will follow the grand justices' interim order. That means the collection of fingerprints will be temporarily suspended," said Cabinet spokesman Cho Jung-tai (
Cho said those applying for the new cards will receive the old version until the grand justices issue an interpretation.
However, "If the grand justices decide that the fingerprinting policy must be carried out anyway, they will have to re-apply for the new cards and provide their fingerprints. If the justices decide against the policy, these people will still have to apply for the new cards but their fingerprints will not be taken," Cho said.
The Democratic Progressive Party legislative caucus complained that the fingerprint requirement violates both human rights and the Constitution. The caucus filed a request with the Council of Grand Justices for an interpretation on May 30.
According to Fan, 14 grand justices met yesterday morning. At around 1pm they decided to ask the Cabinet to suspend the policy.
According to Cho, there are two possible scenarios.
If the grand justices say the two articles violate the Constitution and should be amended, the law will be returned to the legislature for an amendment and new photo ID cards will not be issued before the amendment is passed.
If grand justices say the two articles are fine, then the fingerprinting policy will be resumed.
"Now that the interim order has been given, I think most people won't rush to apply for their photo ID cards, so I don't think the impact will be humongous," Cho said.
By law, every citizen older than 14 years of age must apply for a national ID card, providing their fingerprints and a new head-shot photo taken within the past six months. The photo has to be in a square format, with a white background and the face uncovered. Each of the new-format photos costs approximately NT$200.
Asked whether the government is ready to hear complaints from those who have already had their pictures taken, Interior Minister Su Jia-chyan (
"I believe that the grand justices will come up with a final ruling soon," Su said.
"In the meantime, I urge the public not to apply for the new cards before receiving an official notice from us," he said.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
RSS