Early last month, a video clip of an address made by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts at his son’s high-school commencement ceremony went viral.
“From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice ... and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion,” Roberts says in the clip.
His wishes for graduates to learn from their own frustrations are very unusual. They are also part and parcel of the concept of empathy, a skill invaluable to the judiciary.
If trials could be carried out with empathy and judges put themselves in others’ shoes to understand the parties involved and to solve disputes, then it would be possible for the public to trust the judicial system.
With trials by jury, the US judicial system allows people to participate, in order to avoid arbitrariness and lack of empathy from the judge, perhaps neglecting the important principle of the presumption of innocence, under which a suspect is considered innocent unless proven guilty. In some cases, judges try suspects and encounter unsavory characters on a daily basis, so it is sometimes difficult for them to maintain the presumption of innocence.
However, according to an opinion poll published by National Chung Cheng University last year, as many as 84 percent of Taiwanese do not trust judges — a state of affairs difficult to imagine in a democratic nation. At this critical moment in Taiwan’s judicial reform, the key to success lies in empathy toward the public.
Whether it is the US jury system or Japan’s lay judge system, their purpose is to create opportunities for people to participate in trials with empathy.
At the sixth meeting of the judicial reform preparatory committee on Monday last week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) declared four main areas for reform, including transparency of judicial proceedings, improving the selection and discipline of judges and prosecutors, and the establishment of a system of civic participation in the judicial process, all of which are necessary to rebuild public trust in the judicial system.
Facing the judges and prosecutors, who are in general considered to be “the winners at the game of life,” the public concern should keep track of the policies related to rebuilding the judicial empathy.
Huang Di-ying is a lawyer and deputy director-general of the Taiwan Forever Association.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
When US budget carrier Southwest Airlines last week announced a new partnership with China Airlines, Southwest’s social media were filled with comments from travelers excited by the new opportunity to visit China. Of course, China Airlines is not based in China, but in Taiwan, and the new partnership connects Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport with 30 cities across the US. At a time when China is increasing efforts on all fronts to falsely label Taiwan as “China” in all arenas, Taiwan does itself no favors by having its flagship carrier named China Airlines. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is eager to jump at
Denmark has consistently defended Greenland in light of US President Donald Trump’s interests and has provided unwavering support to Ukraine during its war with Russia. Denmark can be proud of its clear support for peoples’ democratic right to determine their own future. However, this democratic ideal completely falls apart when it comes to Taiwan — and it raises important questions about Denmark’s commitment to supporting democracies. Taiwan lives under daily military threats from China, which seeks to take over Taiwan, by force if necessary — an annexation that only a very small minority in Taiwan supports. Denmark has given China a
In China, competition is fierce, and in many cases suppliers do not get paid on time. Rather than improving, the situation appears to be deteriorating. BYD Co, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer by production volume, has gained notoriety for its harsh treatment of suppliers, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability. The case also highlights the decline of China’s business environment, and the growing risk of a cascading wave of corporate failures. BYD generally does not follow China’s Negotiable Instruments Law when settling payments with suppliers. Instead the company has created its own proprietary supply chain finance system called the “D-chain,” through which
Last month, two major diplomatic events unfolded in Southeast Asia that suggested subtle shifts in the region’s strategic landscape. The 46th ASEAN Summit and the inaugural ASEAN-Gulf-Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Trilateral Summit in Kuala Lumpur coincided with French President Emmanuel Macron’s high-profile visits to Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. Together, they highlighted ASEAN’s maturing global posture, deepening regional integration and China’s intensifying efforts to recalibrate its economic diplomacy amid uncertainties posed by the US. The ASEAN summit took place amid rising protectionist policies from the US, notably sweeping tariffs on goods from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, with duties as high as 49 percent.
RSS