President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said he was happy to see the legislature decide to review the draft bill of the judges’ act.
Ma said he wanted to thank former Judicial Yuan president Lai In-jaw (賴英照), who he said had made a tremendous amount of effort to help push the Speedy Criminal Trials Act (刑事妥速審判法) during his tenure.
The act passed the legislature in April.
Following the acquittal of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), on bribery charges on Friday last week — which irked many KMT supporters — the KMT--controlled legislature decided on Monday to push forward the review of the judges’ act.
‘NEVER EASY’
“I know the legislation process has caused a lot of controversy, but if we don’t take this step, we will encounter more difficulties in the future,” he said. “Judicial reform has never been easy.”
As the government turns its focus to the judges’ act, Ma said he was glad to see the legislature would soon begin preliminary review of the draft bill thanks in part to Lai’s dedication and hard work over the past two years and nine months in office.
Ma made the remarks after conferring medals on Lai and former Judicial Yuan vice president Hsieh Tsai-chuan (謝在全) to thank them for their service.
LONG WAY TO GO
Lai and Hsieh resigned in the midst of a corruption scandal involving three Taiwan High Court judges and one prosecutor suspected of taking bribes from a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker.
Saying that the country’s judicial reform began a long time ago and that there is still a long way to go, Ma added that he believed new Judicial Yuan President Rai Hau-min (賴浩敏) and his deputy Su Yeong-chin (蘇永欽) would continue the effort and exert themselves to reach the goal.
The legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee will begin the preliminary hearing tomorrow.
The Taipei District Court said in its verdict in the bribery scandal that it found no -evidence that Chen took NT$600 million (US$20 million) in exchange for promises not to block separate mergers initiated by Cathay -Financial Holdings and Yuanta Financial Holding.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Panel in response said it would appeal the verdict to the Taiwan High Court.
On Sunday at an election event in Tainan County, Ma, while -saying it was “inconvenient” for him to comment on Chen’s ongoing case, said that the judiciary must not isolate itself from the outside world or deviate from public expectations.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
The Taipei District Court today ruled to extend the incommunicado detention of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) for two more months as part of an ongoing corruption trial. Codefendants in the case — real-estate tycoon Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and Ko's former mayoral office head Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) — were granted bail of NT$100 million (US$3.4 million) and NT$20 million respectively. Sheen and Lee would also be barred from leaving the country for eight months and prohibited from contact with, harassing, threatening or inquiring after the case with codefendants or witnesses. The two would also be
RSS