Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday apologized to the public over a potential breach of neutrality by the Transitional Justice Commission in an incident involving former commission deputy chairman Chang Tien-chin (張天欽), who reportedly compared the commission to “Dong Chang” (東廠), the Ming Dynasty-era secret police and spy agency.
It was the second time the premier, who nominated commission members, apologized for the incident since it happened on Sept. 12.
“We [the government] swore a solemn vow to the Taiwanese public to realize transitional justice and consolidate democracy in Taiwan,” Lai said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“However, former deputy chairman Chang’s recent inappropriate behavior has hurt the agency’s reputation, sparked confrontation and caused a disturbance in society. I hereby apologize to society,” he said.
The Executive Yuan will put together an ad hoc team to investigate the incident and relay its findings to the public, he said.
Lai’s report was delayed for two hours yesterday morning by KMT legislators, who occupied the speaker’s podium and chanted: “No punishment, no justice.”
They were referring to the results of the commission’s investigation report last month, which did not mete out any punishments to Chang and five other commission employees involved in the case on grounds that they have all resigned or been reassigned.
At about 11am, KMT caucus secretary-general William Tseng (曾銘宗) announced that the caucus would end its boycott of Lai’s administrative report, as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had agreed to its demand that the Executive Yuan form an objective ad hoc investigation team and let the KMT caucus lead a review task force to verify the Executive Yuan’s investigation report.
The Executive Yuan’s investigation team is to be made up of objective members of the public and is to be assembled by Vice Premier Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉), while the task force is to be headed by KMT Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲), a co-convener of the legislature’s Judicial and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee, he said.
Chang on Aug. 24 called an informal meeting with former commission secretary-general Hsu Chun-ju (許君如), two researchers and two associate researchers, and allegedly asked the attendees to brainstorm how the commission could use its draft lustration law against former New Taipei City deputy mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the KMT’s mayoral candidate for the municipality.
In a leaked audio recording of the meeting, Chang could be heard saying that Hou was the “most egregious case of transitional justice” and that it would be a “pity” if it could not be used to manipulate public opinion against him.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS