The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus threw its support yesterday behind President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) for voicing concern on Monday about the judiciary intervening in next year's presidential election.
Calling the president's remarks "impartial" and "objective," DPP whip Wang Tuoh (
"After the DPP came to power [in 2000], Taiwan's judiciary has made major progress and become much more impartial and objective, but a few good-for-nothing prosecutors and judges still embrace very obvious ideology and party preference," Wang said.
"They exploit their judicial authority to attack candidates from the political party they dislike while covering up for other candidates from the party they do like," Wang said, citing the actions of former Kaohsiung prosecutor Lo Chien-hsun (
The DPP has claimed that Lo was behind the leak of an official document to the Chinese-language Next Magazine concerning DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) alleged involvement in the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp scandal. An investigation into the leak is ongoing.
Last year Lo alleged that Hsieh had accepted large political donations from several construction companies in 2005 when he was Kaohsiung mayor.
Chen raised his concerns during a meeting with former East German prime minister Lothar de Maiziere at the Presidential Office on Monday. Chen said that he was worried that some judges, prosecutors and investigators were attempting to interfere in the presidential poll.
Chen told de Maiziere that he hoped such a situation would not happen here, but he was afraid "it was very difficult."
Chen said it was unfortunate that Taiwan had not followed Germany's example. A reunified Germany found 50 percent of former East German judges unfit to continue in their jobs.
"Taiwan's cultivation and retirement system for judges is very weak," Wang said when asked if Taiwan should follow Germany's example.
"Many prosecutors or judges only know how to take exams and study. They are not sophisticated ... and that may result in unjust cases," he said, urging the judiciary to review its training and personnel system.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, on the other hand, criticized Chen's remarks. They said the president had slandered judicial personnel and seriously damaged the judiciary's credibility.
KMT Legislator Hsu Shao-ping (
"If [Chen's] accusation is true, his efforts at judicial reform over the past seven years have failed. If it's not, his comments have hurt Taiwan's democracy," Hsu said. "Either way, Chen should be ashamed of himself."
KMT Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰) said that Chen's criticism was "inappropriate" because "he has been involved in irregularities."
First lady Wu Shu-jen (
Chen, who as president enjoys constitutional immunity from prosecution, has not been charged.
"It's the first time that the president thrust a hand in the judiciary in such a brazen way. To remove half of the judicial personnel -- those who don't listen to him -- from their positions?" Fai said.
"It's a shame that we have such a president," he said.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese