The Ministry of Justice Prosecutors’ Evaluation Committee yesterday said it would turn the nation’s top prosecutor over to the Control Yuan, recommending his removal from office for allegedly disclosing classified information about an ongoing criminal investigation.
The 11-member committee recommended the dismissal of Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) after a two-month investigation.
Huang is alleged to have leaked investigative findings to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) that were gleaned from wiretapped conversations, accusing Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) of lobbying then-minister of justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) and Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office head prosecutor Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) to prevent Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office prosecutor Lin Shiow-tao (林秀濤) from seeking an appeal in a breach of trust case against Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘).
Photo: CNA
The committee said that Huang allowed the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to abuse its powers by wiretapping Ker’s and others’ telephones in the name of investigating a criminal case, even though some wiretaps were unrelated. The committee said that Huang also violated the Communication Security and Surveillance Act (通訊保障及監察法) by allowing the SID to reveal the contents of information gathered through wiretap at a press conference.
Huang also leaked classified information related to the ongoing investigation to Ma and instructed the SID to hold a press conference revealing information on the alleged improper lobbying before it was proven, the committee said.
It is inappropriate for Huang to remain in his post as the nation’s top legal official after breaking the law himself, it added.
In response, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office later yesterday expressed regret in a statement, accusing the committee of lacking impartiality and saying that it could not accept the committee’s decision.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) yesterday said that the committee’s decision was reasonable.
Saying that the committee usually renders impeachment as its disciplinary recommendation, KMT Legislator Liao Cheng-ching (廖正井) added that the committee’s proposal that Huang be removed from his post indicated the severity of the matter.
KMT Legislator Lin Kuo-cheng (林國正) said the best solution now is either for Huang to voluntarily step down or for his superiors to persuade him to resign.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday also called on Huang to resign on his own initiative, adding that the committee’s conclusion affirmed Ma’s role as an accomplice, and that Ma should be prosecuted after he steps down from office.
The DPP lawmakers added that they hope the KMT caucus would amend the Communication Security and Surveillance Act to abolish the SID to better guarantee people’s freedom of communications.
Huang previously survived an impeachment vote in the Control Yuan and is facing charges over his alleged offense in a district court.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS