The National Policy Foundation yesterday called for extending the coverage of a proposed transitional justice bill instead of targeting the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime.
The foundation, a think tank founded by the KMT, held a news conference following an announcement last week by Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) that the draft bill would be submitted for a third reading today.
KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) said the period addressed by the draft act — from Aug. 15, 1945 to Nov. 6, 1992 — is limited, so the KMT proposes that the bill be modified to include anything that happened in Taiwan since Japanese occupation in 1895.
Taiwanese “comfort women” and fallen soldiers during World War II are both human rights issues that must be addressed, he said.
The proposed bill is against procedural justice, the law, the Constitution, democracy and the rule of law, Wang said, adding that if it passes the third reading, the KMT would consider requesting a constitutional interpretation.
KMT Legislator John Wu (吳志揚) said the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例) has already been passed, so the transitional justice bill lacks urgency and appears to be an effort by the ruling party to target the KMT and win support for next year’s local elections.
Words such as “authoritarian period” and “authoritarian rule” in the draft bill are ambiguous, Wu said, questioning whether there were no transitional justice issues after 1992.
A proposed transitional justice commission would have the authority to gather evidence, impose punishment and even assign military police to conduct investigations, Wu said, adding that while prosecutors must have search warrants, the commission’s excessive power would violate human rights and could lead to the start of a “green terror” era.
Lawyer Wang Han-hsing (王瀚興) said that the draft act’s content is unclear and could easily lead to ideological issues.
Laywer Chang Chun-lun (張鈞綸) said that transitional justice should not be achieved by legislation targeted at a specific period and through interpretations made by a commission, suggesting that the KMT request a constitutional interpretation if it is passed.
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