The Presidential Office yesterday urged people to voice their opinions about a plan by President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to push for judicial reform as it launched a Web site to collect suggestions from the public.
The unveiling of the Web site (justice.president.gov.tw) coincided with the inauguration of new Judicial Yuan appointees — President Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力), Vice President Tsai Chung-tun (蔡炯燉), and Council of Grand Justices members Hsu Chih-hsiung (許志雄), Chang Chiung-wen (張瓊文), Chan San-lin (詹森林), Huang Chao-yuan (黃昭元) and Huang Juei-min (黃瑞明).
“Everyone is concerned about the progress of the government’s judicial reform,” National Security Council adviser Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正) told an afternoon news conference. “With the swearing-in of Judicial Yuan heads and five grand justices today [yesterday], there are still three stages to go through before a national affairs conference on judicial reform can be held.”
Lin said the first stage is soliciting public opinions, which the office plans to accomplish through the Web site, where people can post their opinions and suggestions concerning the issue of judicial reform.
“People who do not have access to the Internet can write their opinions in a letter and mail it to the office or express their thoughts through any of the Legal Aid Foundation’s local branches,” Lin said.
After gathering the opinions, Lin said the Judicial Yuan and the Ministry of Justice would deliberate on and determine the issues to be addressed at the national affairs conference on judicial reform, a process that could take months, before announcing their preliminary conclusions and soliciting public opinion again.
Following the processes, Tsai Ing-wen will convene and preside over a national affairs conference on judicial reform, Lin said, adding that a preparatory committee for the conference would be established this month.
Social media site Watchout chief executive Lin Tzu-yi (林祖儀), whose organization established the Web site, lauded the administration for seeking to collect public opinions through the Internet, which he said allows participation beyond time and space.
“In the past, the government was not inclined to hold public hearings to learn what people thought ... which was why various opinions that inundated the Internet about a controversial cross-strait service trade agreement in 2013 and 2014 were not able to reach the ears of government officials,” Lin Tzu-yi said.
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