Suspended Hsinchu Mayor Anne Kao (高虹安) was prosecuted for corruption involving legislative assistant fees during her tenure as a legislator. The court of first instance handed her a prison sentence of seven years and four months, but following an appeal, a High Court panel in the court of second instance ruled that the administrative assistant, overtime fees and other regulations of the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) contravened the principle of legal clarity, generating sowing controversy over the constitutionality of such fees. The court paused its trial and sought a constitutional interpretation, but the Council of Grand Justices voted unanimously to not hear the case.
The Constitutional Court’s decision not to take up the case was roundly praised in public discourse online, with people commending it for its keenness and circumspect view, and for understanding that the pan-blue and white camps are trying to paralyze the judicial system with unnecessary cases.
Although Kao’s official duties as mayor were handed over to an interim mayor, the pausing of her trial did not stop her from making high-profile appearances at end-of-year banquets and other functions for the municipal government’s top officials, at which she gave remarks and received birthday wishes. She also attended meetings involving the city fire department, environmental protection bureau and other public offices. She even used the title “mayor of Hsinchu” when signing Lunar New Year couplets and red envelopes.
The Constitutional Court on Feb. 7 rejected the High Court’s request for a constitutional review. Despite this, the very next day, Kao attended the Hsinchu General Union’s Lunar New Year’s banquet, at which she made a public speech. She is obviously unfazed by the courts.
Right after she was initially prosecuted, Kao rushed to her assistants’ homes, demanding that they coordinate their responses to the prosecutors, promising them that “the judiciary would be dealt with.” This is why the prosecution’s response was to investigate whether she was tampering with evidence or the courts.
The High Court panel should recuse itself from Kao’s trial as it resumes — specifically the presiding “qipao-wearing” judge, Kuo Yu-chen (郭豫珍), who has insisted that the suspended corruption cases against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) move forward.
Sophia Lee is a member of the Taiwan Association of University Professors.
Translated by Tim Smith
China has not been a top-tier issue for much of the second Trump administration. Instead, Trump has focused considerable energy on Ukraine, Israel, Iran, and defending America’s borders. At home, Trump has been busy passing an overhaul to America’s tax system, deporting unlawful immigrants, and targeting his political enemies. More recently, he has been consumed by the fallout of a political scandal involving his past relationship with a disgraced sex offender. When the administration has focused on China, there has not been a consistent throughline in its approach or its public statements. This lack of overarching narrative likely reflects a combination
Behind the gloating, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) must be letting out a big sigh of relief. Its powerful party machine saved the day, but it took that much effort just to survive a challenge mounted by a humble group of active citizens, and in areas where the KMT is historically strong. On the other hand, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) must now realize how toxic a brand it has become to many voters. The campaigners’ amateurism is what made them feel valid and authentic, but when the DPP belatedly inserted itself into the campaign, it did more harm than good. The
US President Donald Trump’s alleged request that Taiwanese President William Lai (賴清德) not stop in New York while traveling to three of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, after his administration also rescheduled a visit to Washington by the minister of national defense, sets an unwise precedent and risks locking the US into a trajectory of either direct conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or capitulation to it over Taiwan. Taiwanese authorities have said that no plans to request a stopover in the US had been submitted to Washington, but Trump shared a direct call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平)
Workers’ rights groups on July 17 called on the Ministry of Labor to protect migrant fishers, days after CNN reported what it described as a “pattern of abuse” in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing industry. The report detailed the harrowing account of Indonesian migrant fisher Silwanus Tangkotta, who crushed his fingers in a metal door last year while aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel. The captain reportedly refused to return to port for medical treatment, as they “hadn’t caught enough fish to justify the trip.” Tangkotta lost two fingers, and was fired and denied compensation upon returning to land. Another former migrant fisher, Adrian Dogdodo
RSS