Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh's (施明德) anti-corruption campaign yesterday proposed an amendment to the Anti-Corruption Statute (貪污治罪條例) that would include an article which stipulates government officials who live in luxury explain where their wealth came from.
The proposed amendment also includes a regulation allowing prosecution of the president and the first family for crimes committed during their term, after the president leaves office.
The Constitution protects the president from prosecution for criminal acts but he can be prosecuted for acts of rebellion or treason.
The campaign said that an article allowing the prosecution of non-government personnel who help government officials commit corruption has also been added to the proposal because in many corruption cases, government officials find a third party willing to accept blame for any improper conduct so they can evade punishment.
Anyone who refused an investigation into their property would be punished.
Campaign organizer Yao Li-ming (姚立明) told a press conference that requiring government officials to explain the origin of their wealth is a global trend and was an important way of telling whether someone is corrupt.
The UN Treaty against Corruption passed in 2003 regulates that government officials need to explain how they manage to live such a lifestyle if they obviously cannot afford to do so according to their income, Yao said.
John Wei (魏千峰), who is also an organizer of the campaign, said that over the past decade, many international organizations have come to regard "fighting corruption" as a basic human right and therefore such an article does not contradict the legal principle of "innocent until proven guilty."
Shih told the press that his campaign had been discussing how to help the country establish a sound judicial system.
He said he hoped the proposal would be put on the legislative agenda in the Procedure Committee meeting to be held today, moved directly to a second reading on the legislative floor by Friday and passed into law by Dec. 9, the same day of the year-end mayoral election.
Shih's campaign, led by campaign organizer Wei Yao-chien (魏耀乾), visited party caucuses in the legislature after the press conference.
The proposal gained the support of all party caucuses, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus and People First Party caucus endorsing it.
The Non-Partisan Solidarity Union also showed its support for the proposal, while the DPP and Taiwan Solidarity Union caucuses said they supported the proposal but hoped Shih's campaign could also support the recovery of the KMT's stolen assets.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS