Chang Yu-feng (張瑜鳳), the division chief judge who oversaw a case involving Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) at the Taipei District Court, was removed from the panel of chief judges, sparking speculation yesterday that she was being punished for ruling against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
In a Judicial Yuan review of all chief judges on Wednesday, Chang was removed by a seven to four vote due to what the committee said was a “poor performance.” She was the only one who failed to pass the review, which involved 34 judges.
“The composition of the review committee is just and objective, and the review process is fair and transparent,” the Judicial Yuan said.
Photo: Chien Li-chung, Taipei Times
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said Chang’s removal was to make an example of her and shows the KMT’s intention to interfere with Wang’s second trial.
Chang was the chief judge in a trial that ruled on Sept. 13 last year in favor of Wang’s provisional injunction seeking to retain his KMT membership and position as head of the legislature.
“It seems that [Chang’s removal] is overtime for the ‘September strife’ between (President) Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Wang, and apparently a political crackdown,” DPP spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) told a press conference yesterday.
The “September strife” was a political crisis last year, in which Ma and the KMT accused Wang of being involved in illegal lobbying of the judiciary and tried to revoke his KMT membership, invalidate his status as a KMT legislator-at-large and as legislative speaker.
The timing and motive of Chang’s removal is suspicious and intriguing, DPP caucus Director-General Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said.
“We wonder why all chief judges subject to committee review were able to pass without seeing a vote, while Chang was the only one whose performance was decided by a ballot,” Tsai said.
Tsai said the removal took place two days before the second trial in the Wang case at the Taiwan High Court and “appeared to be an attempt warn to judges who handle the case in the future.”
The Judicial Yuan is responsible for offering an explanation about the decision to remove Chang and tell the public that it did not interfere in the process, DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said. “If the Judicial Yuan fails to do so, the incident will very likely further damage the judicial system, which has been hampered by its bad reputation as various public opinion polls have shown that most Taiwanese do not trust the system.”
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said clarification is needed.
“The Ministry of Justice or the Judicial Yuan has to clarify the reason [for Chang’s removal],” Lo said. “What wrong did [Chang] do? Is her axing because she upheld justice and ruled in favor of Wang? This is just going too far. Has the nation’s judicial institution become a place for political duels?”
KMT Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) said that “there is room for imagination.”
“Won’t [the review result] make people think that there is some sort of political scheme at work? It is certainly weird that there was only one in 34 [presiding judges who were reviewed and got axed],” Tsai Chin-lung said.
KMT-commissioned attorney Lo Min-ton (羅明通) said the situation is not within a commissioned lawyer’s purview, so they have nothing to say about Chang’s removal.
“It is inappropriate for me to comment on this matter,” Wang said in response to media queries.
Additional reporting by Alison Hsiao
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS