Lawmakers yesterday approved the Executive Yuan’s nomination of Transitional Justice Commission Acting Chairwoman Yang Tsui (楊翠) to head the agency, as well as the nominations for seven commission members.
Former commission member Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈) is to serve as deputy chairwoman, while commission member Peng Jen-yu (彭仁郁) is to retain her post.
The new members of the commission are Judicial Reform Foundation executive director Chen Yu-fan (陳雨凡), National Chengchi University professor Frank Wang (王增勇), National Taiwan Normal University associate professor Lin Chia-fan (林佳範), Chung Yuan Christian University associate professor Hsu Wei-chun (徐偉群) and National Dong Hwa University associate professor Awi Mona.
Photo: CNA
All eight nominations were approved 72-0. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus boycotted the vote and later held a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to denounce Yang’s appointment.
Yang’s grandfather, Yang Kui (楊逵), was an author who was arrested during the Japanese colonial era, after the 228 Incident and during the White Terror era, KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said, adding that his legacy in Taiwan’s democracy should not be overlooked.
However, Lin Wei-chou questioned the appropriateness of Yang Tsui serving as the commission’s chairwoman.
Citing the killing of railway police officer Lee Cheng-han (李承翰) last year by a man surnamed Cheng (鄭), who was found not guilty due to mental illness, Lin Wei-chou asked whether it would be appropriate for Lee’s relatives to sit on a lay judge appellate bench trying Cheng.
Yang Tsui should have declined the nomination to avoid a conflict of interest, he said.
KMT Legislator Wu I-ding (吳怡玎) said that Yang Tsui in October last year told the legislature that she could accomplish the commission’s mission before its term expired this month, only to contradict herself six months later by becoming its chairwoman.
She called on Yang Tsui to clarify what the commission seeks to accomplish over the next 12 months.
KMT Legislator Charles Chen (陳以信) said that the KMT caucus is working on an amendment to Article 11 of the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), which gives the premier authority to extend the life of the commission in one-year increments if it has not completed its mission, to prevent the ruling party from using it as a “pork barrel” agency.
KMT caucus vice secretary-general Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said that Chen Yu-fan, a former New Power Party member, was “negotiated out” of the Jan. 11 legislative elections, ceding priority to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hau (許淑華) in the race for Taipei’s Xinyi-Southern Songshan electoral district.
Chen Yu-fan’s nomination could have been the result of a quid pro quo arrangement between her and the DPP, Lin Yi-hua said.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had