Former New Party legislator Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大) yesterday questioned the integrity of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) pick to head the Judicial Yuan.
On the sidelines of a legislative hearing to review Rai Hau-min’s (賴浩敏) suitability, Hsieh, who was not invited to speak at the hearing, told reporters outside the conference room that Rai allegedly attempted to interfere with the judiciary when he served as a defense lawyer for former Control Yuan member Derek Chen (陳金德) in the 1997 Taiwan Development Co insider trading case.
Accusations
Hsieh accused Rai of instigating an evaluation of Chen Ping-chang (陳炳彰), the presiding judge in the case, through the Taipei Bar Association during the trial.
The association later referred Chen Ping-chang to the High Court’s Judge Evaluation Committee and to the Control Yuan on the grounds that he did not respect defense lawyers and defendants and often changed court dates without any explanation, Hsieh said.
The Control Yuan later decided to impeach Chen Ping-chang while the Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission reprimanded him, Hsieh said.
Hsieh questioned how Rai would be able to lead the Judicial Yuan in promoting judicial reform.
‘bad attitude’
Rai denied the allegations, saying that he simply joined the other eight defense lawyers in filing a petition against Chen Ping-chang at the association, adding that many lawyers knew the judge had a “bad attitude.”
Yesterdays hearing reviewed Rai and Su Yeong-chin (蘇永欽), who was nominated for vice president of the Judicial Yuan. The legislature is scheduled to vote on the nominations on Friday.
During the hearing, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators vowed not to support the nominations.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) called the nomination a “failure,” saying that Rai has always supported whatever the ruling party wanted, while Su was too political.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS