Shilin District Court Judge Hung Ying-hua (洪英花), who has been critical of procedural aspects of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) corruption trial, yesterday expressed regret over President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) reported dismissal of her criticism as a violation of legal ethics.
Hung was responding to media reports that quoted Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) relaying comments Ma had reportedly made during a dinner with KMT lawmakers on Wednesday night.
“I hope President Ma can clarify [what he said],” Hung said. “If President Ma does not issue a clarification, I will reserve my right to pursue legal action.”
In December, a panel of judges ordered that Judge Chou Chan-chun (周占春) be replaced by Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) in the corruption and money laundering trial of the former president and 12 co-defendants. The switch elicited speculation that the decision was procedurally flawed and politically motivated.
In articles published in local media, Hung has said that the switching of judges was illegal, rendering the guilty verdicts Tsai handed down on Friday invalid.
Some KMT lawmakers have described Hung’s comments and criticism of the Chen case as “audacious.”
In response to Hung’s criticism, the Judicial Yuan said yesterday that judges should be careful what they say.
Minister of Justice Wang Ching‑feng (王清峰) said she respected Hung’s right to freedom of speech, but that it was up to the Judicial Yuan to decide whether her outspokenness was appropriate.
Asked for comment, Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Hsieh Wen-ting (謝文定) did not give a direct answer.
However, Hsieh said that according to the Model Code of Judicial Conduct, which all judges in the country must adhere to, a judge should have high moral standards, be prudent in speech and action, and exercise self-control and integrity.
“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
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)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS