President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) apologized in person to the public yesterday for failing to consider public opinion in his nomination of Supreme Court Judge Shao Yen-ling (邵燕玲) to the Council of Grand Justices and denied having prior knowledge of her controversial ruling in a sexual assault case.
The president insisted that during their meeting on Monday, Shao had not told him that she was the chief judge of the case that involved a three-year-old girl, and said he would not have nominated Shao if he had been aware of her involvement in the controversial case.
“I want to apologize again for the nomination process … The process was not thorough because we only considered the nominees’ expertise and integrity. The government should never break away from public opinion and social perception,” Ma said in a press conference at the Presidential Office.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Ma’s personal apology yesterday came after he and Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) issued a statement late on Thursday night apologizing for the controversial nomination.
On Thursday morning, Ma named Tang Te-tsung (湯德宗) as the alternative nominee for the Council of Grand Justices, after Shao issued a press statement earlier that morning saying she had decided not to accept the nomination.
Shao caused a stir last year when she overruled a Taiwan High Court verdict in a sexual assault case on the grounds that the court could not prove a three-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted against her will because she had not resisted strongly enough.
The ruling prompted a group of Internet users to initiate the “White Rose Movement” last year, and tens of thousands of protesters joined a large-scale rally that called for the dismissal of judges they consider unsuitable and for legal revisions to provide better protection for -children and people with disabilities against sexual assault.
Shao came from a breed of “dinosaur judges” that needed to be replaced, the critics said.
Siew, who led the task force responsible for examining the nominees’ qualifications, also joined Ma at the press conference yesterday and apologized again for failing to provide sufficient information to Ma.
According to Siew, the task force spent 18 days collecting a list of 32 potential candidates and then Ma spent several days picking four nominees.
Judicial Yuan President Rai Hau-min (賴浩敏) yesterday also publicly apologized for recommending Shao for a seat on the council.
Rai said he knew Shao was responsible for the controversial ruling, but still included her on the nomination list because he saw Shao as “qualified talent” and that it was difficult to find a female nominee.
“I put too much emphasis on her experience and expertise and did not think the case would be an obstacle in the nomination process. I apologize for failing to consider public perception and causing trouble for the task force,” he said at the joint press conference.
When asked whether the Presidential Office replaced Shao only to resolve growing public criticism, Ma said members of the Grand Justice Council should know more than making judgments in accordance of laws.
“The judiciary should be independent, but not autocratic. We should always consider public perception, otherwise we won’t make any progress as a society,” he said.
Ma said he would instruct the Presidential Office’s secretary--general to adjust the nomination process, but declined comment when asked whether anyone should be held responsible.
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