Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) proposed referendum on punishment for politicians and government officials charged with obstruction of justice was criticized yesterday by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) .
“Of all the people, Ma is the most unsuited and the least qualified person to lead this referendum proposal. When Ma was in power, he repeatedly interfered in the nation’s judicial system and manipulated judiciary officials,” Ker said at a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.
“Ma’s intent is to use the referendum as a ‘loincloth’ to shield his guilt and his many wrongdoings,” Ker said, adding that Ma was not only looking to cover up previous illegal activities, but also trying to direct current officials in the judiciary.
Ma and his lawyer, C.V. Chen (陳長文), are the leading proponents of the referendum proposal, which was approved by the Central Election Committee last month.
The proposal, dubbed the “anti-obstruction of criminal justice” referendum, would seek punishment for presidents, lawmakers, Control Yuan members and other high-ranking officials who directly or indirectly pressured, lobbied or improperly influenced members of the judiciary to obtain a favorable court ruling for themselves or others.
Ker cited several examples of Ma’s alleged interference with the judiciary.
“Ma told then prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) on August 31, 2013, to report on wiretap findings to the legislature. Huang had been investigating myself and [then-legislative speaker] Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), and had approved the wiretapping,” Ker said.
Huang was convicted for leaking classified information and breaching personal privacy protection and surveillance laws, Ker said.
Ma was indicted on charges stemming from the case, which created the “September Strife” on Sept. 6, 2013, he said.
“I later found out that Special Investigation Unit had installed wiretaps to listen in on all of my telephone conversations, 24-hours a day. They had people working shifts around-the-clock, conducting extensive and detailed surveillance on me,” he said.
DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang’s (段宜康) mockery of Ma’s proposal drew laughter and amused looks from committee members and attending officials.
“I disagree with my DPP colleagues,” Tuan said. “We should not stop Ma from proposing a referendum on punishment for politicians and government officials who obstruct justice. It is actually Ma’s way of confessing, of admitting his guilt for the numerous times that he has interfered with the judiciary.”
Lawmakers should provide for cases to be examined retroactively when discussing proposed referendum so that Ma’s efforts to own up to his own wrongdoings would not be in vain, as litigation is ongoing in several of Ma’s cases, Tuan said.
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
The Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office today requested that a court detain three individuals, including Keelung Department of Civil Affairs Director Chang Yuan-hsiang (張淵翔), in connection with an investigation into forged signatures used in recall campaigns. Chang is suspected of accessing a household registration system to assist with recall campaigns targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city councilors Cheng Wen-ting (鄭文婷) and Jiho Chang (張之豪), prosecutors said. Prosecutors yesterday directed investigators to search six locations, including the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Keelung office and the residences of several recall campaign leaders. The recall campaign leaders, including Chi Wen-chuan (紀文荃), Yu Cheng-i (游正義) and Hsu Shao-yeh
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths