Civil servants must put themselves in the public’s shoes and bear civil rights in mind as they perform their duties to help deepen democracy in the country, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.
Ma was speaking at the launch of a Ministry of Justice program to train 2,400 civil servants as part of the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The legislature ratified the international covenants on March 31.
Most civil servants don’t know what constitutes a human rights violation, Ma said. He urged government employees to be mindful of people’s rights in order to minimize the possibility of human rights violations in the country.
“When your rights are being protected, you may not notice it, but if your rights are being infringed upon, you would definitely feel it,” he told officials gathered at the launch.
Ma urged government employees to think about how they would feel if their rights were being violated.
The president said he had great respect for civil servants’ contribution to enhancing democracy in Taiwan, saying they have helped make the country the most mature society in the Mandarin-speaking world in terms of democracy, freedom and the rule of law.
Ma said that, since he took office, the number of warrants obtained by investigators allowing them to listen in on telecommunications has decreased by 70 percent, in an effort to minimize rights violations.
However, Ma said, this was not enough, because the concept of human rights protection should reach all levels of the civil service.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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