A recent job reassignment by the Ministry of Justice of three Tainan prosecutors has been questioned by pan-green politicians as politically motivated, allegedly meant to influence the outcome of a judicial probe into vote-buying allegations involving Tainan City Council Speaker Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Lee is involved in bribery charges in both the city councilor and council speaker elections, with Tainan City Mayor William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) refusing to attend any of the municipality’s council meetings until Lee’s cases are settled.
The ministry on Wednesday last week approved the promotion and transfer list of 155 prosecutors and judicial officials to fill vacancies in judicial agencies and regional offices, following the convening of the Prosecutors’ Personnel Review Committee.
The announcement included 37 prosecutors transferred to second-trial courts, 56 to first-trial courts and 62 new prosecutors were put on probation-period assignments.
Those reassigned included Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office deputy chief prosecutor Tsai Li-yi (蔡麗宜); Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office’s “Crackdown on Black Gold” head prosecutor Chung Ho-hsien (鍾和憲) and prosecutor Chou Meng-hsiang (周盟翔).
DPP Tainan branch spokeswoman Chiu Li-li (邱莉莉) said Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) made the final decision on transfers and promotions of prosecutorial officials by circling names from the submitted list.
“On the surface, it might look like a routine job reassignment, but the timing was highly sensitive,” Chiu said.
“It made people wonder whether there was a hidden agenda. People are also likely to worry whether the moves would affect the pace and outcome of an ongoing investigation into Lee’s alleged vote-buying,” she said.
Chiu said that Chung and Chou were members of Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office’s “Crackdown on Black Gold” taskforce, who led police and judicial officials to seize a ballot box and other evidence during elections for Tainan City Council speaker and deputy speaker posts last year, adding that, along with carrying out the investigation into Lee’s alleged vote-buying, they were the prosecutors who laid charges of election fraud against Lee.
Although deputy chief prosecutor Tsai was not directly engaged in the probe, she was familiar with the case, Chiu said, adding that the trio’s removal from the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office could influence the court hearing and debates to invalidate Lee’s election to the speaker’s post.
“The timing and reassignment of the trio were highly coincidental and has made people question the political motives behind the move,” Chiu said.
Lai yesterday said the ministry’s transfer of the trio from Tainan was “incredulous, an unprecedented action,” adding that such move was highly unusual.
“I hope the new prosecutors taking up the probe can scrupulously adhere to the spirit of judicial independence,” he added.
In response to the charges, ministry officials said the move was normal and according to proper procedures for transfers and promotions.
Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office officials said the transfers and promotions were routine job reassignments by the ministry, and that, since prosecutors are guardians for people in a nation governed by law, they would handle all cases in accordance to “procedural justice,” based on the evidence and facts of each case.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS