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.
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS