The national police chief yesterday said that his fellow police officers will not have to worry about violating human rights while carrying out their duties in the future because of a new law that will take effect on Dec. 1.
"This is a milestone," said Chang Si-liang (張四良), director-general of the National Police Administration (NPA).
"This new law will protect both human rights and the police themselves," he said.
The new law, the "Police Duties Enforcement Act" (警察職權行使法), clearly sets out the regulations that apply to police officers when they are on duty.
"[The new law] is actually the result of a request made on Dec. 14, 2001 by the grand justices of the Judicial Yuan, according to the Interpretation Article 535 to the Constitution," Chang said.
"They requested that a new law be drafted to regulate police officers' duties and said that the new law should be passed within two years. Now here it is."
The NPA had actually begun drafting a new law in 1998 but progress was extremely slow until the judicial request was made two years ago.
The Legislative Yuan passed the bill on June 5 this year and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) announced the law on June 25.
Chang explained that officials decided to make the law effective on Dec. 1, about six months after it was announced, because the government needed time to train police officers and to make the public aware of the new law.
"Police officers now have a bible to help them carry out their duties, so they will not jeopardize innocent people's human rights," Chang said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
RSS