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
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