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.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard