Outgoing Control Yuan member Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟) yesterday lashed out at Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) and former minister of justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) for protecting “dinosaur judges” and impeding judicial reform.
Chen was presenting the results of two year-long investigations at a news conference at the Control Yuan when he made the remarks.
He levelled accusations against Hsu, as well as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) judiciary figures including Wang and C.V. Chen (陳長文), in a speech taken from his post titled “The Guardian Gods of Dinosaur Judges” that he published on his Pointed Pigtail (尖尾週記) blog in February 2018.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Chen said his main mission at the Control Yuan was to clean up “dinosaur judges” — a term that refers to judges who are out of touch with society — and judges who had prosecuted pan-green camp figures and government officials, while being lenient toward those from the pan-blue camp.
“I wanted to root out the dinosaur judges from the judiciary, but I found that the ‘guardian gods’ behind them were protecting and defending them, so my mission became difficult,” Chen said.
Members of the judiciary must treat each person with humane consideration, because they have the power to violate the rights of people at society’s lower levels, he said, asking: “Where can those in detention or who are wrongly convicted go to seek justice?”
“To clean up the muck in the judiciary, we would also have to throw these ‘guardian gods’ into the trash bin,” he said.
One of the cases Chen presented was a 2008 case against former Public Construction Commission vice chairman Kuo Ching-chiang (郭清江), while the other was a 2002-2003 case about the Taipei City Government dismantling the century-old Zhongshan Bridge (中山橋).
Kuo was taken for questioning and had travel restrictions imposed on him, which pointed to unfair prosecution, Chen said.
In the Zhongshan Bridge case, the administration of then-Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) abused its power to dismantle the bridge, which was designated as a historic monument for preservation.
The move was made without consulting engineers or cultural historians, and 435 slabs from the dismantled bridge still lie abandoned in a nearby park 18 years later, Chen said.
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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