The Ministry of Justice yesterday announced a set of measures to reform the prosecutorial system — including allowing public input in the evaluation of prosecutors — to meet public calls for changes and pave the way for the upcoming national affairs conference on judicial reform.
“Many people have expressed their concern over the scrutiny of prosecutors and their conduct in handing criminal cases. They have also expressed their support for more public input in the judicial process,” Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) told a news conference, where he was joined by Prosecutor-General Yen Ta-ho (顏大和) and Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Wang Tien-cheng (王添盛).
“The ministry is willing to lead the change by starting with reforms to the prosecutorial system,” Chiu said.
Photo: CNA
The new measures include enhancing teamwork and promoting investigative competence, raising the threshold on indictments, adding public input in the “prosecutors’ review committee” and improving the system for evaluating prosecutors’ performance.
To improve teamwork and competency, Chiu said the name of the head prosecutor and subordinate prosecutors handling major criminal proceedings should be listed for public scrutiny.
“We have seen prosecutors diligently put in efforts to improve their work in recent years, maintaining a conviction rate of more than 96 percent and a non-conviction rate of about 3 percent,” Chiu said. “We cannot compare yet with Japan’s more than 99 percent conviction rate, but our prosecutors are doing good work compared with other advanced, democratic countries.”
He said Taiwan compares quite favorable with the US and Germany, whose non-conviction rates are 8.7 percent and about 3 percent respectively.
“We do have flaws in a few of the prosecution cases, and since these cases have affected individuals’ rights, they have led to an accumulation of public discontent and grievances. The public naturally expects prosecutors to conduct prosecution in a thorough and meticulous manner. The ministry must therefore lead the way to reform, instead of becoming the target for reform in the upcoming national affairs conference,” Chiu said.
To enhance the evaluation system for prosecutors, members of the public will be chosen to join the prosecutors’ review committee and committee members will be empowered to initiate probes into cases deemed in need of redress or rectification, he said.
The committee would be vested with the authority to mete out disciplinary measures upon finding negligence or wrongdoing by prosecutors, he said.
At present, the committee can only make recommendations for prosecutors, which could be overturned by other committees, resulting in accusations of prosecutors covering up for their colleagues.
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
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
RSS