President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday reaffirmed his pledge to work for judicial reform and said the legal community supported him in the endeavor, while he dismissed opposition by former Supreme Court president Yang Jen-shou (楊仁壽) about making the case-assignment process more transparent.
Assigning cases to judges in a transparent manner has been adopted in district courts and there have been no difficulties in carrying out the measure, Ma said.
“Making the judicial system more transparent is key to judicial reforms, and it would boost the people’s confidence on the system,” Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) quoted Ma as saying.
Ma’s reiteration came in response to Yang’s criticism of the plan during a ceremony yesterday morning where he handed over authority to Yang Ting-chang (楊鼎章), former Taiwan High Court chief judge.
Speaking at the ceremony, Yang Jen-shou critcized Ma for a plan he said risked damaging the independence of the system.
Yang Jen-shou urged both his successor and Judicial Yuan President Rai Hau-min (賴浩敏) to keep the case-assigning process confidential.
“President Ma, enticed by young judges, agreed to interfere with the confidential system on the courts’ case-assigning process. This seriously damages judicial independence,” Yang Jen-shou said.
In response, Yang Ting-chang said he would do the right thing during his term.
Earlier this month, during a meeting of the Action Alliance of Justices to Elect the Supreme Court Chief Justice, Ma promised to move forward steadily with judicial reform and agreed with the alliance’s call for more transparency in assigning cases to judges.
Fan Chiang yesterday said that the president has been promoting judicial reform over the past four years, and he would continue with the reforms during his second term, so that the nation’s judicial system meets public expectations.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
RSS