Saying he was surprised to be asked by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to lead the Judicial Yuan, Rai Hau-min (賴浩敏) told lawmakers yesterday he would devote himself to judicial reform wholeheartedly.
“I told the president that there are many people who are better than I am in terms of age, experience and education, but the president, who called me ‘senior,’ said he’d given the matter a lot of thought,” the 70-year-old said.
Rai, in his capacity as Central Election Commission chairman, as well as Su Yeong-chin (蘇永欽), a vice presidential nominee for the Judicial Yuan, and Chang Ming-chu (張明珠) and Kao Yuang-kuang (高永光), two nominees for the Examination Yuan, visited the legislature to seek support from lawmakers ahead of the confirmation vote scheduled for next week.
“I am aware of the rising public discontent with the judiciary and the widening gap between public expectations of judiciary and the quality of rulings,” Rai told Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
The Democratic Progressive Party has characterized Rai and Su’s appointments as “political,” adding that they would undermine the independence of the judiciary.
DPP legislators refused to meet Rai and Su, calling the courtesy call “unnecessary.” They said they would rather the nominees be cross-examined during the public hearing and legislative sessions on Monday and Wednesday.
Rai said he would ensure the independence of the judiciary because the role of the judiciary is to realize social justice and protect the rights and interests of the public.
DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said that if Rai and Su were serious about maintaining judicial independence, they should not solicit lawmakers’ support.
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