Legal experts and human rights groups yesterday called for increased public scrutiny of the ongoing nomination process for four members of the Council of Grand Justices.
Members of the Grand Justices Nomination Oversight Alliance, a watchdog organization founded more than a decade ago, gathered to push the group’s aim of ensuring transparency in the nomination process and to monitor the quality of grand justice candidates.
While grand justice candidates are officially nominated by the president and confirmed by the legislature, the alliance seeks to promote public deliberation on the issue.
“We would not want legislators from the ruling party to merely become a rubber stamp for candidates nominated by the president; nor would we want the opposition party to abandon the issue completely,” alliance convener Liu Ching-yi (劉靜怡) said.
The alliance announced an upcoming evaluation of the four nominees that would encompass a wide spectrum of attributes, including professional capabilities, contributions to the promotion of human rights values and democratic principles, commitment to an independent judiciary as well as personal conduct.
It also seeks to challenge grand justice nominees by asking them to publicly state their stance on a series of human rights issues, ranging from gender and workers’ rights to ethnic issues and environmental protection.
The four grand justice nominees are: lawyer Huang Horng-shya (黃虹霞), Deputy Minister of Justice Wu Chen-huan (吳陳鐶), National Taiwan University law professor Tsai Ming-cheng (蔡明誠) and Shilin District Court President Lin Jyun-yi (林俊益).
Lin’s candidacy has raised eyebrows, as he was one of the Supreme Court judges who acquitted President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of corruption charges in connection with the use of his special allowance when he was Taipei mayor.
Another controversial candidate, Academy for the Judiciary President Lin Hui-huang (林輝煌), failed to make the president’s final four picks despite a recommendation from the Ministry of Justice, largely because of criticism over his role as a military prosecutor during the Kaohsiung Incident of 1979 — in which prominent pro-democracy activists were put on trial.
Human rights lawyer Greg Yo (尤伯祥) said it was crucial for all grand justice nominees to exhibit a strong faith in democratic values, in light of an increasing possibility for the council to process cases related to the integrity of Taiwan’s liberal constitutional democracy.
The nation’s grand justices may soon face the task of determining whether future cross-strait negotiations — including the cross-strait service trade agreement or a potential cross-strait “peace accord” — are in line with the Constitution, Yo said.
“Taiwan’s liberal democratic order is under grave threat, with a potential constitutional crisis halted only by last year’s mass [Sunflower movement] protests,” Yo said, adding that a grand justice candidate would require the “moral courage” to point out unconstitutional acts committed by those in positions of authority.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
RSS