Minister of Justice Morley Shih (
Shih made the remarks during the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.
He said that a total of 25,670 prisoners were eligible for sentence reductions.
Among the 10,523, a total of 7,432 had been sentenced for drug use.
Shih said that to prevent recidivism in drug users following their release, the ministry would invite them to attend drug rehabilitation programs.
The ministry and law enforcement authorities would also monitor their activities after they leave prison, he said.
Shih said the ministry had recently held two opinion polls, which found that while more than 70 percent of respondents supported sentence reductions for individuals who had committed minor crimes, 80 percent said the government should work to prevent society from being adversely affected by the amnesty.
Shih said two main factors were behind the respondents' resistance to the amnesty bill -- security concerns and the perceived unfairness to victims of crime.
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Chang also said the ministry should make rehabilitation programs available to drug addicts.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Acting on Chen's directive, the Cabinet drafted a commutation bill and referred it to the legislature for approval. Although the Democratic Progressive Party supported the Cabinet version of the bill, it was the version proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party that was passed by the legislature on June 15 after consensus was reached.
The Cabinet-drafted version advocated for the early release of individuals whose sentences were one-year or less, compared with the opposition's version, which made the amnesty applicable to people with sentences of 18 months or less.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it