While September may be the end of "ghost month for the legislators," as the Taipei Times' Sept. 2 editorial observed, it is a continuation of the "ghost month" for the rest of us. As the legislators' immunity from arrest and detention kicks in, the "rotten apples" among legislators roam the streets, although their fellow "ghosts" have returned to hell.
A real long-term solution to this problem is further amending Article 74 of the Constitution, which currently grants legislators immunity from arrest and detention -- except in cases of flagrante delicto -- while the legislature is in session. While many people may applaud this article for partially stripping the previous blanket immunity, it is really sloppy legislation produced through compromises. The right thing to do is simply strip immunity altogether.
Some believe that the immunity ensures that legislators will not worry about falling prey to frivolous or retaliatory arrests and detention by elements seeking to sway their legislative activities. However, the force of this argument is based on doubts about the integrity of the prosecution and judiciary in this country. If arrests are made based on warrants issued from a sound legal basis determined by an impartial bench or prosecutor (depending on whether a trial has started), why worry about retaliatory arrests of legislators? If concern is warranted, then something must be wrong with the balance of power between our government branches.
All government branches should keep each other in check. The Legislative Yuan makes the law, the Judicial Yuan interprets the law, and the Executive Yuan -- to which the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) belongs -- enforces the law. Many would agree that the remaining two branches increasingly are becoming appendix organs, so we leave them out of this discussion. No one branch should dare to encroach on the power of another branch, because the latter would be in a position to strike back. If the system is operating soundly, then the legislators should not worry about oppressive arrests and detention. If today the MOJ groundlessly arrests a legislator, we know that tomorrow the judiciary will rule the arrest illegal and the legislature would be able to respond through legislation. Neither response would require "consent" of the Executive Yuan or MOJ. In contrast, if a legislator has violated the law, while the MOJ would be able to prosecute the person and thereby get the official involved, it would not be able to arrest the legislator while the legislature is in session without consent from the Legislative Yuan. Apparently, there is an additional hoop the prosecutor must jump over. The scale of power appears to have tipped. We can hardly convince ourselves that we have a balance of power.
Why not follow the path of countries such as the US where only marginal legislative immunity exists. Article One, Section Six of the US Constitution grants senators and representatives, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, exemption from arrest while their respective legislative bodies are in session. It is universally agreed that this clause now entitles US lawmakers to no more immunity than other US citizens. Rather, it protects US legislators from civil arrest -- a common occurrence when the legislation was drafted.
Article One of the "Regulation of the Conduct of Legislative Yuan Members" (立法委員行為法) correctly points out that the legislature should be the "standard of moral, ethics, and conduct." However, it has become a sanctuary and safe haven for criminals.
Amy Wu is a lawyer and member of the teaching faculty at Chung Yuan Christian University.
President William Lai (賴清德) attended a dinner held by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) when representatives from the group visited Taiwan in October. In a speech at the event, Lai highlighted similarities in the geopolitical challenges faced by Israel and Taiwan, saying that the two countries “stand on the front line against authoritarianism.” Lai noted how Taiwan had “immediately condemned” the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas and had provided humanitarian aid. Lai was heavily criticized from some quarters for standing with AIPAC and Israel. On Nov. 4, the Taipei Times published an opinion article (“Speak out on the
Most Hong Kongers ignored the elections for its Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2021 and did so once again on Sunday. Unlike in 2021, moderate democrats who pledged their allegiance to Beijing were absent from the ballots this year. The electoral system overhaul is apparent revenge by Beijing for the democracy movement. On Sunday, the Hong Kong “patriots-only” election of the LegCo had a record-low turnout in the five geographical constituencies, with only 1.3 million people casting their ballots on the only seats that most Hong Kongers are eligible to vote for. Blank and invalid votes were up 50 percent from the previous
More than a week after Hondurans voted, the country still does not know who will be its next president. The Honduran National Electoral Council has not declared a winner, and the transmission of results has experienced repeated malfunctions that interrupted updates for almost 24 hours at times. The delay has become the second-longest post-electoral silence since the election of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez of the National Party in 2017, which was tainted by accusations of fraud. Once again, this has raised concerns among observers, civil society groups and the international community. The preliminary results remain close, but both
News about expanding security cooperation between Israel and Taiwan, including the visits of Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) in September and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) this month, as well as growing ties in areas such as missile defense and cybersecurity, should not be viewed as isolated events. The emphasis on missile defense, including Taiwan’s newly introduced T-Dome project, is simply the most visible sign of a deeper trend that has been taking shape quietly over the past two to three years. Taipei is seeking to expand security and defense cooperation with Israel, something officials
RSS