Cabinet spokeswoman Vanessa Shih (史亞平) yesterday dismissed media speculation that Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) intended to interfere in the judiciary regarding two gender-related legal cases.
Shih said the premier did not instruct the Cabinet’s Commission on Women’s Rights Promotion to establish a special “task force” to pressure Judicial Yuan President Lai In-jaw (賴英照) to increase awareness of gender issues.
Liu only “agreed” to a proposal initiated by the commission during a meeting of the panel on Thursday to form a “team” to “express concerns” to Lai regarding gender equality during trials, “instead of trying to meddle in judicial affairs,” she said.
Shih made the comments after several media outlets reported yesterday that the commission launched a petition calling for measures to educate judicial personnel on gender equality issues under Liu’s instruction.
Last August, a man indicted for fondling a woman’s bosom was acquitted, while in June a man who was indicted for kissing his ex-wife’s 13-year-old daughter was also found not guilty.
Commission member Chou Ching-yu (周清玉) said on Saturday that the rulings were a shock and reflected the gap between the aim of the Sexual Assault Prevention Act (性侵害犯罪防治法) and Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法) and the views of judges.
“Commission member Chou and other members mentioned in the meeting that there was a gap between the acquittals of the two cases and the expectation of the public,” Shih said. “They said it was necessary to ‘remind’ the Judicial Yuan of the importance of gender equality.”
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS