Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators last month proposed amendments to the Court Organization Act (法院組織法). The amendments, which have proceeded to a second reading, would allow for the live broadcasts of courtroom proceedings, which could be highly problematic.
In 2000, I was tasked with cracking down on illegal sand and gravel excavation. One day, I was summoned to testify in a case, in which I answered all of the questions truthfully and accurately, to the dismay of the defendant. After the hearing, the defendant and several of his accomplices followed me, seemingly with the intention to take revenge. Fortunately, I was vigilant enough to quickly run into the nearest police station and seek help, narrowly escaping danger.
Based on my own experience, I can only imagine what would happen if the TPP’s courtroom broadcast proposal were to be implemented. It would inevitably place immense psychological pressure on courtroom witnesses and experts due to concerns over threats to their safety.
If a witness were summoned to testify, they might seek to protect themselves by adopting a passive and defensive mentality, not daring to speak the full truth. That would undoubtedly affect a trial’s pursuit of truth and justice. Under such circumstances, would courts be able to deliver fair and accurate judgements?
Live broadcasts would also not be fair to the victims. The details of criminal cases most often involve highly sensitive personal information that should not be made public — such as personal finances, family, marriage status, health, sex life or occupation. Televising the proceedings would publicize details about a victim’s experience of a crime, which would be tantamount to rubbing salt in their wounds, harming them for a second time.
Article 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that a defendant is presumed innocent until convicted. Criminal trials require professional and expert handling. They are completely unlike the courtroom dramas portrayed on TV.
Televised trials can easily lead to cases being tried in the court of public opinion. Social discourse in Taiwan often leans toward populism, making it easy for individuals and entities to stir up public emotions. That could prevent a defendant from receiving a fair trial. In extreme cases, details from proceedings could be selectively edited or taken out of context, creating unnecessary turmoil.
Members of the public can already apply to attend court hearings. Anyone interested in understanding how court proceedings work are free to apply to observe a trial. Broadcasting court proceedings live would do nothing to improve judicial transparency.
Moreover, with the rapid development of modern technology, it is possible for live footage to be doctored. That could transform a trial into a spectacle with unpredictable consequences. It would not only exponentially increase the pressure and costs for all parties involved in a lawsuit, but could also influence testimonies by witnesses and experts. Such measures would be detrimental to all parties involved — lawyers, prosecutors, defendants and plaintiffs on both sides of a case — and for the court as a whole.
Yeh Yu-cheng is a secretary at the Pingtung Public Health Bureau.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
Chinese state-owned companies COSCO Shipping Corporation and China Merchants have a 30 percent stake in Kaohsiung Port’s Kao Ming Container Terminal (Terminal No. 6) and COSCO leases Berths 65 and 66. It is extremely dangerous to allow Chinese companies or state-owned companies to operate critical infrastructure. Deterrence theorists are familiar with the concepts of deterrence “by punishment” and “by denial.” Deterrence by punishment threatens an aggressor with prohibitive costs (like retaliation or sanctions) that outweigh the benefits of their action, while deterrence by denial aims to make an attack so difficult that it becomes pointless. Elbridge Colby, currently serving as the Under
The Ministry of the Interior on Thursday last week said it ordered Internet service providers to block access to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (小紅書, also known as RedNote in English) for a year, citing security risks and more than 1,700 alleged fraud cases on the platform since last year. The order took effect immediately, abruptly affecting more than 3 million users in Taiwan, and sparked discussions among politicians, online influencers and the public. The platform is often described as China’s version of Instagram or Pinterest, combining visual social media with e-commerce, and its users are predominantly young urban women,
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
Alarm bells over a “hollowing out” of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry and US demands for “protection money” have fueled a panic over Taiwan. To understand how misplaced these fears are, consider the movements of global technology giants. Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) CEO Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) could undoubtedly understand the situation best, and they continue to make key investments in Taiwan. They do not make decisions on a whim. They are the architects of global computing power strategy and possess the highest levels of industry knowledge. No
RSS