The Council of Grand Justices yesterday upheld the right of Taiwanese to travel abroad and return without first applying to the Ministry of the Interior.
The requirement to apply to re-enter the country was contained in the National Security Law (國家安全法), passed in 1987 when the government lifted martial law in the country.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
But the grand justices agreed yesterday that the Immigration Law (入出國及移民法), which was passed in 2000 and gives everyone with household registration in Taiwan the right to travel freely, supersedes the National Security Law.
In commenting on the interpretation, Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Yang Jen-shou (楊仁壽) said, "Generally, reasonable restrictions are necessary for departures, but a citizen's right to re-enter his or her own country should not be restricted."
The application for the Constitutional interpretation was filed by Taiwan High Court Judge Tsai Yung-chang (蔡永昌) on Sept. 5, 2000, when he was presiding over a case involving Peter Huang (黃文雄), the former president of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights (台灣人權促進會).
Huang was a key figure in the assassination attempt on then president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) in New York in 1970, for which he was blacklisted by the government.
At the time, the government used martial law, and then the National Security Law, to keep out those peopleit regarded as troublemakers.
As a result, Huang was forced to live in exile in the US until 1996, when he returned to Taiwan without first seeking permission from the government.
Huang said at a press conference yesterday afternoon that he was happy that the unreasonable "blacklisting policy" had finally been abolished.
"As for my own case, I will make no comment since it is not decided yet," he said.
While Huang may feel satisfied that the government can no longer prevent Taiwanese from re-entering the country, the grand justices' interpretation does not appear to protect him from prosecution.
The interpretation, No. 558, applies only to those convicted under Article 3-1 of the National Security Law for crimes committed since May 21, 2000, when the Immigration Law came into effect.
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