Legal professionals monitoring the confirmation of 15 grand justice nominees breathed a sigh of relief that the process ended smoothly and without confrontation.
"The legislative performance in confirming the 15 grand justice nominees alleviated the anxiety generated by the lawmakers' annoying boycott last year of confirmation votes for Control Yuan members, a grand justice nominee and leaders of the Examination Yuan," said Ku Chung-hwa (
"Lawmakers, on average, acted moderately in wielding their legislative power to examine these nominees during the weeklong interpellation," Ku said after the confirmation vote concluded last night.
Ku's association, comprising six prominent legal, academic and women's rights groups, sent delegates to monitor each day of the legislative confirmation process.
The delegates observing the interpellation completed an assessment of the legislators based on the questions they asked.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Shen Chih-hui (
Last Thursday, Shen asked 40 oversimplified true or false questions of six nominees, the association said in describing her performance as "low class."
Lee Yuan-deh (
"It is extremely dangerous to treat constitutional debates as a matter of yes or no," Lee said, adding that the oversimplification was helpful neither for judging the competence of the nominees nor examining potential Constitutional disputes.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Cheng Kuei-lien (鄭貴蓮) was judged the second worst among the legislative inquisitors.
"Her interpellation centered on criticism of Hualien District Chief Prosecutor Yang Ta-chih (
The association regretted seeing Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Yi-wen's (
"It is improper to force the examinees to answer questions according to the lawmaker's personnel preferences," the assessment said.
Other lawmakers judged by the association as performing poorly were Lee Ching-hua (李慶華), Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁), Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和), Sheu Yuan-kuo (許淵國), Chao Liang-yen (趙良燕) and Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) of the PFP, Chang Tsai-mei (張蔡美) and Hsu Shu-po (許舒博) of the KMT and Hou Shui-sheng (侯水盛) of the DPP.
"Even though Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Chen Chien-min (
The association said that DPP Legislator You Ching (
"You fully respected his examinees as he gave them enough time to respond to his questions," the association said.
You also performed excellently on choosing questions for individual nominees in accordance with their legal specialities, the assessment said.
Another DPP lawmaker, Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), was graded as second best. DPP legislators Parris Chang (張旭成), Lin Yu-sheng (林育生), Jao Yung-ching (趙永清) and Lai Chin-lin (賴勁麟) were also rated in the top 10.
Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) was the only KMT legislator deemed by the association members as doing a professional job during the interpellation. The association also praised PFP lawmakers Lin Te-fu (林德福) and Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) for asking high-quality questions.
Two independent lawmakers, Su Yin-kuei (蘇盈貴) and Cheng Yu-cheng (鄭余鎮), were endorsed by the association for their preparation.
DPP Legislator Lin Yu-sheng (林育生), who ranked sixth, said he appreciated the assessment. He said he was convinced that lawmakers will perform better in future confirmation tasks after furthering legislative reforms such as modifying electoral rules.
"But I regret that the grand justice nominees bypassed questions involving politically sensitive issues. Some of these questions are not really controversial topics and, as their duty is to judge legal controversies, they should fulfill the role in explaining to the public about what is right and true," Lin said.
The evaluation summarized that lawmakers on average maintained a rational attitude in examining the nominees.
"But it is arguable that the legislators still brought too many trifling issues and political battles into the weeklong interpellation of the grand justice nominees," it concluded.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's