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.
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