Sun, Dec 30, 2018 page3

• Tsai doubles down on justice issues and reform

  CONFRONTING PROBLEMS: Allowing citizens to take part by serving on a jury or as a citizen judge would help courts meet public expectations, President Tsai Ing-wen said

  • By Lee Hsin-fan and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Friday said that her administration would double down on transitional justice and judicial reform, adding that protecting the nation’s democratic institutions from foreign electoral interference is on the agenda for next year.

  “We are not balking from reform,” Tsai said, adding that setbacks to policy do not affect her determination to phase out nuclear power, or to oversee the implementation of judicial reform and transitional justice.

  “Although transitional justice has encountered difficulties, we will adjust our approach and get the policy back on track,” she said at an informal session with reporters at her residence in Taipei.

  

  President Tsai Ing-wen smiles as she answers reporters’ questions at her residence in Taipei on Friday.

  Photo: CNA, courtesy of the Presidential Office

  Regarding judicial reform, Tsai said that the nation would soon have to decide whether the courts are to adopt citizen judges, juries, or another system with elements from both, and the legislature would play a large role in that decision.

  Major legislative initiatives — including the Labor Dispute Act (勞動事件法) that recently passed the legislature and the proposed “grand chamber” system — were the result of last year’s National Congress on Judicial Reform, she said.

  “People will soon understand that the core issues of judicial reform are being addressed,” she said.

  Although many have been disappointed by the seemingly slow pace of judicial reform, the speed of reform necessarily reflects the immensity of the problems being confronted, she said.

  Broadening citizen participation in the justice system through citizen judges or trials by jury would help address issues of the courts often failing to meet public expectations with judgements, she said.

  Whichever solution is adopted, reforms would enact profound changes to how the Taiwanese litigate and usher in a new age for the justice system, she said.

  Asked to comment on debate over division of authority for the president and the premier, Tsai said: “There are certain ambiguities in our constitutional framework.”

  Historically, an administration relies on smooth cooperation between the president and the premier to make policy, she said, adding that some issues had occurred in her administration despite the largely smooth cooperation between herself and her premiers.

  “Many Taiwanese academics base their opinions on the political experience of foreign nations, which is less important than the nation’s own experience,” she said.

  The government hope to evaluate the constitutional issues of the past decade and discuss solutions, an effort supported by the Democratic Progressive Party and its think thank, she said.

  Last month’s elections have stoked fears that China could interfere with elections using disinformation, which must be considered “a direct challenge to our democratic institutions,” she said.

  The government will rise to the challenge with a series of policies and ideas that will improve and protect democratic institutions from foreign meddling, she said, adding that national security issues would claim an important place in her agenda for next year.
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