Former Control Yuan member Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) has been nominated to head the proposed transitional justice promotion committee, Premier William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
Lai confirmed that Huang had been picked during a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan after New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) asked him about media reports that Huang had been tapped by the Executive Yuan to chair the nine-member committee.
The reports “are correct” and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus had been informed of the Cabinet’s plan, Lai said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The list of nominees for the committee is to be submitted to the legislature by the end of this week for approval, Lai said, adding that he “respectfully requests” they support Huang’s confirmation.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said Huang is “highly qualified” to lead the committee because of his long experience as a legislator, a member of the Control Yuan and an academic.
“Huang is a patient negotiator and has the historical knowledge for the job,” Ker said.
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) offered his “complete support” to Huang, adding that Huang has for decades contributed to the nation’s democratic development and had served the nation well at the Control Yuan.
Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said a news conference would be held today to formally announce the nominees.
The Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), passed on Dec. 5 last year, mandates that the Executive Yuan establish an ad hoc committee to implement transitional justice measures set forth under the law.
A nine-member committee is to be composed of a chairman, a vice chairman and three other members who must serve the committee exclusively, in addition to four members who can serve in other posts, the act said.
Neither gender should outnumber the other by more than three on the committee, it added.
Earlier this week, a government official familiar with the matter said that Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee member Hua Yih-fen (花亦芬) and 228 Massacre expert Chen Tsui-lien (陳翠蓮) were expected to be among those nominated.
Hua and Chen are both on the history faculty at National Taiwan University.
Hua is the author of a book on Germany’s experience with transitional justice, titled Reborn from the Wounds of History: Transitional Justice in Germany after 1945 and 1990 (在歷史的傷口上重生:德國走過的轉型正義之路).
Additional reporting by CNA
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he