Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Prosecutors' Reform Association held a press conference yesterday to announce the establishment of an anti-corruption alliance, and call for a more independent national prosecution system.
Chien Hsi-chieh, the executive director of the Peacetime Foundation of Taiwan, said, "An independent prosecution system is the key to fighting high-level corruption, and the first step of the reforms should be to create a more independent State Public Prosecutor-General, whose position is free from any politicil intervention."
Chien called on the nation to support an amendment of the Court Organic Law (法院組織法), which is awaiting its second reading in the legislature.
The amendment proposes to establish a State Public Prosecutor-General's nomination system, which stipulates that the president's nominee for state prosecutor-general should be approved by the legislature, and that the position have a four-year term of office, said Chien, adding that the president would not be able to recall the prosecutor-general during his or her term.
Chien said the amendment also proposes to establish a special prosecution system for probing crime by high-level officials.
Chien said the two new systems would avoid any possibility of political intervention.
"While South Korea's prosecutors have probed and indicted high-level officials and the relatives of several presidents a number of times, Taiwanese prosecutors have never indicted a ministerial-level official," Chien said.
Chien and Prosecutors' Reform Association spokesman Chen Chih-ming (陳誌銘), a Tainan prosecutor, also asked the government to recall the State Public Prosecutor-General Wu Ying-chao (吳英昭) for his inability to lead prosecutors in a probe of corruption among high-level officials.
Chen said his association opposed Wu's appointment to the post last year because of his past involvement in scandals such as illegal trading of Taiwan Pineapple Corp (台鳳) shares.
"Recent controversies surrounding the probes into the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) and Lafayette scandals have indicated that Wu is not suitable for his job," Chen added.
Yu Chih-li (余致力), the executive director of the Taiwanese chapter of international NGO Transparency International (TI-Taiwan), said the nation has made little progress in its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) over the last 10 years.
Yu said that TI-Taiwan has focused on corruption research for years, and it thinks a more powerful and independent prosecution system is the key to solving the nation's corruption problems.
In addition to calling for an independent prosecution system, more than twenty members of The Prosecutors Association visited Minister of Justice Morley Shih (施茂林) yesterday, asking him to support the amendment of the Court Organic Law.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS