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
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