All of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) nominations to the Council of Grand Justices are qualified, a civic evaluation committee said yesterday, although members of a civic watchdog group said a lack of information meant their approval would be withheld.
A review committee formed by the civic groups that comprise the Alliance for Civic Oversight of Supreme Court Justice Nominees gave all seven of Tsai’s nominees a passing score of at least seven out of 10, with Judicial Yuan president nominee and former grand justice Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) receiving the highest ranking.
Committee members — judges, academics and lawyers nominated by the alliance — assigned scores for character, personality traits, professional knowledge and knowledge of constitutional law and human rights.
The nominees for Judicial Yuan president and vice president were rated on their judicial reform policies, with a “pass” or “fail” grade assigned based on their average score.
Grand Justice nominee Chang Chiung-wen (張瓊文) received the lowest ranking, barely making the seven-point cut-off after receiving sub-par marks for professional knowledge and human rights, with the evaluation citing a lack of academic publications and civic activism.
Judicial Yuan vice presidential nominee Tsai Chung-tun (蔡炯燉) received sub-par marks for constitutional law and human rights, while Grand Justice nominee Hsu Chih-hsiung (許志雄) received a sub-par score for professional knowledge.
Taipei Society representative Chiou Wen-tsong (邱文聰) said that Tsai Chung-tun only passed because of strong marks for his judicial reform views, while adding that substantial information might have been left out of the evaluation process.
“Because we do not have all of the information, it is possible that we have not received some negative information on past actions, which might disqualify the nominees,” he said.
Other alliance members said that Chang and Grand Justice nominee Huang Chao-yuan (黃昭元) declined to return evaluation committee questionnaires.
“Unless there is a law in place requiring nominees to provide this information, there will be limits to even the best efforts of civil society,” Chiou said, adding that yesterday’s hearing at the Legislative Yuan was a meaningless formality.
“The nominees were not even required to attend, so there are huge questions over whether the hearings can provide substantive review,” he said.
Judicial Reform Foundation executive director Kao Jung-chih (高榮志) said that Hsu’s response on the issue of homosexual marriage was “vague,” with Hsu's response leaving open the possibility that homosexual marriage should be rejected if it could be demonstrated that homosexuality was “abnormal.
The Awakening Foundation — a feminist group — declined to attend yesterday’s press conference to avoid giving the appearance of endorsing the nominees, he said.
The foundation released a statement criticizing Hsu, Tsai, Chang and Huang, saying they had not made clear their positions on “same-sex marriage and other gender issues.”
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had