The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved the nomination of Yen Da-ho (顏大和) as prosecutor-general of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, without ballots from the opposition parties. Yen was put forward by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) last month.
The nomination was approved by 62 affirmative votes, reaching a majority in the 112-seat legislature.
None of the Democratic Progressive Party legislators cast ballots, with the party caucus stating that the party was not willing to endorse Ma’s nomination.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union also abstained from casting ballots. The 62 approval votes were from 61 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators and one independent.
Yen was nominated last month to replace former prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘), who played a controversial role in the so-called “September political strife” last year between Ma and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) after he met with the president before publicly announcing the result of a Special Investigation Division investigation and authorizing a series of wiretaps.
After his nomination was approved, Yen said that human rights should be respected in future prosecutors’ criminal investigations.
“Prosecutors will step up efforts to crack down on bribery in the seven-in-one elections in November, and the Special Investigation Division will continue to look into judges and prosecutors who are suspected of taking bribes,” Yen said.
In response to media queries on students and members of the public facing criminal investigations into the Sunflower movement and related rallies, Yen said: “The law punishes lawbreakers, regardless of their status.”
Meanwhile, Judicial Reform Foundation executive director Kao Jung-chih (高榮志) issued a statement requesting Yen to make a public pledge that he would adhere to the Constitution and not brief details of any ongoing investigations to the president and that he would only meet with the president at public occasions.
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