The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has released a 40-page English-language report containing a compilation of “unfair judicial investigations and trials” suffered by its members who had served in the previous DPP administration.
The report, which included the cases made against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and dozens of other former or current government officials, was “not a political statement, but a research study which compiled facts and information,” Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), the executive director of the DPP’s Policy Research Committee, said yesterday.
The report was released on Monday and a Chinese-language version is to follow soon, Wu said.
The report said that it had focused primarily on “major cases in which DPP members have been subjected to arbitrary investigations launched by prosecutors or the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau, or indicted for abuses of power.”
The paper distinguished three types of unfair judicial treatments.
Tsai, former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and former National Security Council secretary-general Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) were among the 25 cases classified as Type I, in which DPP members have already been acquitted or not indicted and the investigation is closed.
Most Type I cases were related to allegations of misconduct involving state affairs fund and special executive allowances, and involved several commissioners and mayors.
Eight other cases were labeled as Type II, meaning that the DPP members involved have begun, but not completed the trial process and have most recently been given a “not guilty” verdict. Type II cases included those of Chen Shui-bian, former deputy presidential secretary-general Chen Che-nan (陳哲男) and DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬).
Cases categorized as Type III “are those in which prosecutors and investigators obviously transgressed the principle of proportionality or displayed other forms of bias,” the report said.
Notable politicians involved in Type III cases included Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) and Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠).
The compilation of data reflected “the double standards and lack of respect for fundamental human rights commonly displayed by prosecutors, police, investigators and judges in implementing the judicial process, as well as the lack of effective external monitoring of or balancing mechanisms for the judiciary,” the report said.
The report, which took a special task force nearly three weeks to complete, has been distributed to American Institute in Taiwan officials and US congressional aides in Washington, Wu said, adding that it will also be sent to observers of Taiwan in the international community.
DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) established the task force in May last year to gather information on unjust investigations and trials after taking the helm of the party.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique