Several prosecutors have recently been detained or released on bail on corruption charges, damaging the reputation of the nation's legal system. With the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) having launched an investigation into another 27 prosecutors, the profession is coming under fire, with some saying prosecutors have too much power and that institutional flaws are behind the problems.
A lead prosecutor at Kaohsiung's Taiwan High Prosecutors' Office, Chang Hsueh-ming (
At the Taipei Prosecutors' Office and Kaohsiung Prosecutors' Office, for example, Chang said that each prosecutor handles 80 to 90 criminal cases a month. With about 100 prosecutors in each of the two offices, the head and lead prosecutors are too busy to oversee every case.
As a result, Chang said, prosecutors are able to decide whether or not to indict defendants, meaning that they enjoy more power than the law actually gives them.
After former Yunlin County prosecutor Hsu Wei-yu (
Shih has asked head prosecutors nationwide to carefully review the cases handled by their offices.
Shih acknowledged that among the roughly 1000 prosecutors nationwide, some are bound to be corrupt and he has asked head prosecutors to pay more attention to prosecutors' personal lives.
Shih said that former Chiayi prosecutor Sung Tsung-yi (
Hsu Wei-yu is another example. Evidence shows he often dined and went to hostess clubs with local police and gangsters, Shih said.
Shih said "prosecutors' personal lives can, to a certain degree, reveal whether or not they are clean."
Shih has asked head prosecutors to report to the ministry if prosecutors are found to have close relations with gangsters, those who run illegal businesses or local police.
Shih said that as part of a crackdown on bad prosecutors, the ministry has launched an investigation on another 27 prosecutors."
Chang said the nation's prosecutors have enjoyed more power since the implementation of a law in September 2003 that allows indictments to be suspended (緩起訴).
Chang said that under the law, prosecutors can suspend an indictment if the defendant has committed a minor crime or admits guilt.
Chang said the law was introduced to reduce the number of criminal cases sent through the legal system. It has effectively reduced prosecutors and judges' work burdens, but also gave prosecutors new rights.
"It is hard to prevent prosecutors from accepting bribes in exchange for suspending a defendant's indictment," Chang said.
Chang said when the law was drafted, some legal experts had been concerned that it might cause corruption problems, but the law was still passed.
Shih said that some prosecutors like to cultivate relations with police and agents of the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau (MJIB).
But experience has shown that this kind of cooperation often leads to collusion between the two sides.
Shih said that Hsu, who led an investigation by police into a multi-million dollar professional baseball game-fixing scandal, is suspected of betting on baseball games with the officers. Hsu is also accused of taking and sharing bribes with police officers who had worked with him for several years.
Shih said that former Kaohsiung prosecutor Chen Cheng-ta (
Shih said that two agents from the MJIB who had worked with Chen were also detained, on suspicion of being involved in the fabricated charges.
Kaohsiung prosecutors have said Chen charged the two men with weapons smuggling in order to apply for a reward offered by the ministry to those who uncovered weapons smuggling.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or