The New Power Party (NPP) legislative caucus yesterday issued a survey for the nominees of the Executive Yuan’s transitional justice promotion committee, saying that their answers would be used as a reference for evaluating whether the candidates are suitable for the position.
After the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例) passed its third reading on Dec. 5 last year, the Executive Yuan on March 27 nominated former Control Yuan member Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) as the chairman of the nine-member committee, while a few other nominees were announced last week.
NPP caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said the party issued surveys to help lawmakers understand nominees for grand justice and minister and deputy minister of justice, so no exception is being made for the nominees to the new committee.
He urged the nominees to be specific when answering the 15 questions, which pertain to subjects the caucus thinks the public is curious about, saying that their answers would become the reference for their evaluations and their approval.
The independent committee must be well-supported by the public, NPP Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal said, adding that as it is “responsible for taking the lead in enacting transitional justice measures on others,” it should conduct them on its own members first.
The committee’s members must have appropriate ideas and the proper attitudes on transitional justice to meet the public’s expectations, she added.
The 15 questions in the survey are categorized into six main themes: knowledge on transitional justice, the duties of the committee, the elimination of authoritarian symbols, transitional justice for Aborigines, knowledge on redressing unfair judicial cases and the ethics of committee members.
Regarding knowledge on transitional justice, the survey asks the nominees to define and characterize transitional justice, estimate the level of achievement of transitional justice in the nation and identify the model of investigation most suitable for Taiwan from the different types conducted in other nations, Kawlo Iyun Pacidal said.
On transitional justice for Aborigines, she said the questions pertain to redressing injustices related to Aboriginal territory that has been appropriated for Taiwan Sugar Corp and privatized, and whether Wu Feng Temple (吳鳳廟) in Chiayi County, which stigmatizes Aborigines, should be removed.
Regarding the ethics of committee members, Kawlo Iyun Pacidal said that Huang has been asked to explain his stance when he was a Control Yuan member on the handling of an impeachment motion against former prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘), who was involved in a wiretapping case, and the reasoning for his stance, as well as his thoughts on the failed motion.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all