Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) yesterday said that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would head a preparatory committee for national affairs conferences on judicial reform to be set up by the office, in an effort to prevent the pending nominations of the Judicial Yuan president and vice president from impeding long-awaited progress toward judicial reform.
“Actually, in addition to serving as convener, [Tsai] will also designate a civil opinion leader to be the deputy convener of the committee, which will consist of legal and non-legal professionals,” Huang said.
Huang said the committee is set to begin soliciting issues regarding judicial reform, including ones gathered by civil judicial reform groups.
The beginning of these efforts is meant to prevent any delay in the nomination of Judicial Yuan president and vice president from hindering judicial reforms, Huang said.
Huang made the remarks when asked to confirm media reports published yesterday that quoted an unnamed “high-level official at the Presidential Office” as saying that Tsai is to take the role of convener of the committee to ensure smooth communication between the Presidential Office-affiliated body and various sectors of society.
“While there have been concerns that a politician’s ties with the judicial system could lead to their interference in individual court cases, Tsai is confident that she would not do so and that her goal is simply to assist with reform efforts,” the official was quoted as saying.
According to the guidelines for establishment of the committee rolled out by the office on July 11, Tsai is responsible for appointing the convener and deputy convener of the committee, one of whose stated missions is to give counsel to the president on matters concerning judicial reform.
It was reported that initially, the convener seat was to be occupied by Presidential Office Secretary-General Lin Bih-jaw (林碧炤).
Tsai’s decision to take the role came one day after she signed off on Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission Chief Commissioner Hsieh Wen-ting’s (謝文定) and Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Lin Chin-fang’s (林錦芳) withdrawals of their nominations as Judicial Yuan president and vice president respectively.
Their nominations met with harsh criticism, as Hsieh was purported to be a party to human rights violations during the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) authoritarian era, while Lin allegedly has a history of intervening in the judicial process.
Regarding to Hsieh and Lin Chin-fang’s replacements, Huang yesterday said that Tsai would nominate new candidates in accordance with the Constitution and would extensively solicit opinions from society.
“Since the incumbent Judicial Yuan president and vice president had already resigned early last month, the new candidates will be nominated as soon as possible,” Huang said.
Huang added that since their nominations still require approval from the Legislative Yuan, the posts might not be filled until November.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS