Representatives from several civic groups yesterday urged President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to listen to their pleas on judicial reform and increase efficiency in establishing judicial legislation.
Representatives from professional organizations such as the Taiwan Law Society and the Judicial Reform Foundation, as well as other NGOs including labor groups, women’s rights groups and new immigrants to Taiwan met with Ma at the Presidential Office yesterday morning.
The groups voiced their concerns and recommendations to the president, saying that it is important for a judicial reform committee to be established directly under the Presidential Office.
They voiced opposition to plans that the judicial reform committee be part of a human rights committee under the Presidential Office. They said such a move which they say would diminish the influence of the judicial reform committee.
The judicial reform committee should be comprised not only of legal experts, but also representatives from civic groups who do not practice or study law, said Taiwan Bar Association chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄).
The groups also called for improved efficiency in setting up judicial-related legislation, as well as for the Presidential Office to announce every three months its progress on judicial reform, similar to its current efforts to fight corruption.
If these are achieved, it would contribute to showing that the administration is committed to improving the quality of the judiciary, said Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正), executive director of the Judicial Reform Foundation and one of the representatives who met with Ma yesterday.
Lin said Ma vowed to look into the matter and seek to understand the issue through methods such public polls.
He added that Ma said he would ask related agencies to offer their suggestions on the issue, and come up with specific policies to deal with the matter within a month.
Koo told reporters he feels “disappointment mixed with hope,” at Ma’s response and urged the president to emphasize the importance of civic organizations’ participation in judicial reform.
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
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