The Judiciary Committee of the Legislative Yuan yesterday passed the draft of two amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure designed to ensure standards of evidence and limit the role of judges in criminal cases.
The amendments were initiated by New Party Legislator Chang Shih-liang (
The amendment to Article 161 empowers judges to demand that prosecutors acquire more evidence before indicting suspects and even to present all the existing evidence on which they intend to rely at trial.
If prosecutors fail to supply sufficient evidence before a deadline laid down by the court, judges can decline to indict and thereby dismiss the case.
Hong Chang-hong (
Article 163 eliminates the judges' role in investigations, and entitles them to judge the case only in accordance with the evidence provided by the prosecutors. It allows one exception in which judges may intervene in investigations -- when there is a possible conflict of interest on the part of the defendant.
The amendment gives plaintiffs and prosecutors the power to conduct further investigations and to request testimony from witnesses -- which used to be the responsibility of judges.
DPP Lawmaker Liu Chun-hsiung (劉俊雄), who voted against the proposal, said the new law may be unfair to victims and plaintiffs.
"If a judge thinks prosecutors or plaintiffs do not have sufficient evidence to prove a defendant guilty, they should just go ahead and dismiss the case," Liu said.
Taiwan Independence Party Legislator Lee Ching-hsiung (李慶雄) holds the opposite opinion.
"We can clarify the roles of judges and prosecutors with these new amendments to the law," he said. "With the new law, investigating and providing more evidence will become solely the prosecutors' job and so they will have to be more careful before they indict suspects.
"We will be able to protect innocent people from being indicted or convicted on weak or vague evidence," he said.
The two amendments will be submitted to a full session of the Legislative Yuan for a second review and final approval next week.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS