President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) sense of humor was on show again yesterday when he joked that investigators should not smoke when they interrogate suspects to elicit confessions from them.
“How did the investigating agent torture you? Did he beat you? The suspect said no, adding that it was the agents chain-smoking that made him nearly choke to death,” Ma said, recalling a conversation he had with a suspect when he was minister of justice.
“If [investigators] are smokers, remember that [you] should smoke outside and not inside during the interrogation process,” Ma told the 46th graduating class of agents at the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau in Sindian (新店).
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The average age of the graduates was about 27 years old. There were 41 men and 35 women.
Ma said that the bureau’s top priority was obtaining information concerning national security. However, he also urged agents to probe irregularities and corruption involving government officials to help establish clean government.
He told law enforcement personnel to exercise their powers cautiously because “infringements of human rights are mainly caused by the government and the overexertion of public power.”
Ma said there were fewer illegal wiretapping cases since he took office, adding: “It’s not that I was asking you to forget such measures, but that they should only be conducted when necessary and legal … Only when these principles are abided by can we say that we are a democratic country ruled by law.”
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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