The legislature's Judiciary Committee finished reviewing the draft of the Legal Aid law (法律扶助法), under which the government will set up an NT$10 billion fund over a 10-year period to provide legal aid for people who can't afford a lawyer in a court case.
Also, to prevent prosecutors from filing reckless indictments against people, the bill stipulates that such authorities should pay for all legal expenses that stem from unsuccessful indictments.
The bill still needs to go through a second and third reading in the legislature before it can be signed into law.
According to the bill, the government-provided legal aid will include legal counseling and arbitration, the drafting of legal documents and a government-provided defense attorney in a lawsuit or arbitration case.
Only people with low incomes are eligible to apply for the legal aid.
The law doesn't just apply to Taiwanese nationals, but also to Chinese, Hong Kong and Macao nationals, as well as foreigners and stateless people, who have legal residency in Taiwan.
Despite strong opposition from the Ministry of Justice, legislators adopted the clause that will force prosecutors to pay the legal expenses of unsuccessful prosecutions.
Vice Minister of Justice Hsieh Wen-ting (
Hsieh pointed out that no country has been able to ensure that all its prosecutors' indictments end in convictions.
Up to 89 percent of indictments end in convictions in Taiwan, compared with around 80 percent in Germany and Japan, Hsieh said.
Hsieh argued that it is unfair to put so much pressure on prosecutors. He said the new rule will force prosecutors to act in favor of the suspects and avoid indicting the suspects in most cases.
Recent amendments to the Law of Criminal Procedure have already decreased the number of indictment cases from several hundred per month to less than a hundred. This figure is expected to fall even more, as the new rule will demoralize prosecutors, Hsieh said.
Hsieh's argument, however, failed to convince legislators at yesterday's meeting.
Legislators led by the DPP's Chiu Tai-san (
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
RSS