Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday accused the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee of having deviated from its goal of promoting transitional justice, calling the committee’s actions “horrible” and “not befitting a normal, democratic nation.”
Ma made the remarks at the launch of the Taipei campaign headquarters of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who is running for party chairman.
Ma appeared to endorse KMT Vice Chairman Jason Hu (胡志強) as Hau’s running mate, saying the pair would “make a good team.”
After declaring his support for the two, Ma dedicated the rest of his speech to the assets committee, saying it has increasingly strayed from its founding principle of pursuing transitional justice and accused it of violating the rule of law.
Ma said that under German theories of the rule of law there should be no assumption of guilt in the absence of proof, but the party assets committee has assumed that the bulk of the KMT’s assets obtained since Aug. 15, 1944, are illegitimate.
Taiwan has had six direct presidential elections and three transfers of power, and is widely acknowledged as a democratic state by the international community, he said.
Ma added that when he was elected president in 2008, then-US president George W. Bush praised Taiwan as a beacon of democracy in Asia, and Taiwan had since then ranked well in Freedom House’s Freedom in the World reports.
“Do we need to conduct a deep re-evaluation of the nation like South Africa, post-Word War II Germany and Germany after unification did?” Ma asked.
“I do not see the need,” he added.
Asked about Ma’s comments, assets committee member Lien Li-jen (連立堅) said: “Ma must have been a poor student at school.”
When Germany implemented transitional justice, its legal system followed the principle of substantive rule of law that demanded individuals and political organizations prove their properties were legitimately obtained, Lien said.
During Ma’s term as minister of justice, the justice ministry in 2002 cited Germany’s experience in an opinion regarding the bill that latter became the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例), he said.
“That Ma is not familiar with the affairs of his ministry showed he was not serious about his job,” Lien said.
Additional reporting by Yang Chun-hui
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
RSS