Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) on Thursday said that the ministry’s main tasks this year are to promote better access and engagement in the judiciary system, and enhance prosecutors’ handling of criminal cases.
Chiu presented a Ministry of Justice report to the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee outlining goals and directives for the year, as well as results from last year.
“The ministry’s most important work is to initiate changes and to provide support for the national affairs conference on judicial reform,” Chiu said. “We have undertaken efforts to canvass input, opinions and ideas from all sectors of society to be considered by the judicial reform subcommittee.”
He said that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has made judicial reform one of the government’s top priorities, while it is also an important societal issue.
Other priorities outlined in the report are to enhance international collaboration with other nations and foreign judicial agencies to fight money laundering, human trafficking, telecommunications fraud and join the worldwide fight against terrorism.
Chiu said he will oversee a push for amendments to the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例) and the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法) to implement more stringent enforcement and heavier punishments.
The report urged the legislature to support passage of a draft antiterrorism activities act, which was drawn up in consultation with the National Security Bureau, the Homeland Security Office and other government agencies.
Regarding prison reform, Chiu said work was in progress to improve conditions for inmates and alleviate overcrowding, with the goal of giving each inmate their own bed.
Chiu said that the ministry would implement measures for judicial reform in line with demands from the public.
These include enhancing teamwork and promoting investigative competence, raising thresholds for indictments, adding public input to a “prosecutors’ review committee” and improving the process to evaluate prosecutors’ performance, he said.
To improve teamwork and competency, Chiu said the names of the head prosecutor and subordinate prosecutors handling major criminal proceedings should be made public to ensure transparency and accountability.
Chiu said he has instructed district prosecutors’ offices and local law enforcement agencies to respond more swiftly to reports of sexual assault and domestic violence, and to provide protection to those affected, especially women and children, and to provide legal assistance to low-income families.
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
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A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
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