A petition calling for the implementation of a jury system was signed by eight political parties and 88 legislative candidates, the Taiwan Jury Association said at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The public wants a jury system and its implementation should be the focus of judicial reform, said the association, which initiated the petition, adding that members of the public should vote on Saturday for parties and candidates who express support for the change.
Parties that have shown clear support for a jury system are the United Action Alliance, the People First Party, the New Power Party, the Formosa Alliance, the Taiwan Action Party Alliance, the Interfaith Union, the Taiwan Solidarity Union and the Taiwan Renewal Party, the association said.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
Legislators from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), as well as several independent lawmakers, have also expressed support for a jury system and have signed the petition, the association said.
The professional judge and lay judge system introduced by the current administration is fraught with problems, it said.
Although lay judges could discuss criminal charges and prison terms with professional judges, there is a risk that defendants would become “guinea pigs,” association president Wu Ching-chin (吳景欽) said.
Professional judges have authority over lay judges, so they can interfere with their discussions, but lay judges ultimately need to decide the length of prison terms, which is a complicated matter that they should not be burdened with, Wu said.
Wu also expressed concern that suggestions for judicial reform from legislators across party lines were being ignored and that they were not given a chance to implement tests of their suggestions.
The petition was sent to the DPP, which said that it would “continue to listen to the will of the people and reform policy,” the association said.
The association said it would post the DPP’s response, as well as the list of parties and legislators who signed the petition, on Facebook and asked people to support those on the list.
Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), former minister of transportation and communications Kuo Yao-chi (郭瑤琪) and Hsiao Ming-yao (蕭明岳) — who is serving a life sentence for a drug conviction — are the three most high-profile cases of people being wrongly convicted, Taiwan Action Party Alliance spokesman Tsan Hsiang-wei (詹祥威) said.
Prosecutors in those cases used coarse evidence and improper judicial procedures, but they would never have proceeded had there been a jury system in place, Tsan said.
Judicial reform was a campaign promise of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), he said, adding that she should implement a jury system immediately.
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
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,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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