New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) yesterday said the Ministry of Justice had neglected its duty after 20 Taiwanese detained by the Malaysian government sent to Taiwan on Friday night were released on arrival.
Hsu accused the ministry of “deliberately taking zero action to collect evidence and misleading the public” into believing that fraud suspects — as Beijing had claimed — are not duly punished in Taiwan.
“Why is it that the ministry did not proactively collect evidence from Malaysian authorities from the beginning? This is not the first time that we have had this kind of case. Is ‘letting the suspects get away easily’ a reputation actually created by the ministry’s repeated passive reactions?” Hsu asked.
Malaysian authorities gave the evidence to Chinese authorities, Hsu said.
The ministry contacted its Chinese counterpart over the case, but failed to request that Chinese authorities give the required evidence to the ministry, which is a serious dereliction of duty, Hsu said.
The party caucus also said in a statement that the ministry needs to expound on whether it has asked for information and evidence from Malaysian and Chinese authorities, and if not, why.
“As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan’s top priority is to engage in effective and substantive judicial cooperation on the condition that the country’s judicial sovereignty is respected,” the statement said.
“The recent forced deportation of Taiwanese to China, and the inability of our related authorities to obtain relevant evidence have accentuated the country’s inadequacies in international judicial cooperation and domestic law enforcement,” it added.
Separately yesterday, Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said Premier Simon Chang (張善政) on Friday ordered the ministry to gather the relevant information “via [its] channels” to launch an investigation, which the ministry did after it was known that the 20 Taiwanese were to be deported to Taiwan.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau had already asked Chinese authorities to provide relevant documents, Sun added.
The NPP also accused the government of failing to coordinate with China.
“We would like to ask the Ministry of Justice if it requested that Malaysia and China forward any relevant documents?” the statement said. “If it has not, why not?”
The caucus urged the judiciary to more aggressively cooperate with other nations fighting transnational criminal organizations.
“Based on recent incidents in which Taiwanese suspects were taken away by force and in which relevant documents were unable to be sent to Taiwan, we would say that there is still much to be done,” the NPP said.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
The Philippines would likely be involved in any conflict over Taiwan due to its proximity to the democracy claimed by China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, reiterating a stance that risks angering Beijing. “In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” Marcos said in an interview with Japanese media in Manila on Monday. The Philippine leader’s comments come ahead of a state visit to Japan next week, where he is to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss security
RSS