The days of political intervention in the judiciary are gone, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
In his address at the Taiwan Bar Association’s Lawyers’ Day celebration, Lai said it took Taiwan decades to shift from autocracy to democracy, with judicial independence being one of the numerous achievements along the way.
He cited association president Lee Ling-ling (李玲玲) as saying that Taiwan shifted from autocracy to democracy thanks to lawyers’ sacrifices and contributions during the Taiwanese democratic movement.
Photo: CNA
“Lawyers were the vanguard of democratic change during the authoritarian martial law period. They are also the guardian of rule of law in democratic society,” Lai said, paying tribute to all layers nationwide ahead of Lawyers’ Day on Tuesday next week.
Lawyers are the cornerstone of law-based society and indispensable to people’s daily lives as well as judicial proceedings, he said, adding that it is lawyers who incorporate the law into people’s lives.
Lai said he expects the government to cooperate with the association to deepen legal education, not only for human rights protection, but also to enhance the public’s awareness of the rule of law.
“We should let people know that whether the investigation by prosecutors or the trial by court judges is based on professional independence and autonomy,” he added. “The era of executive intervention in judicial functions is over.”
The cooperation is also expected to help refine the legal system to empower frontline lawyers with greater space to apply their professional knowledge, Lai said.
For example, economic crimes, business secret protection and anti-fraud measures are all issues of serious public concern, and could be tackled through collaborations between the government and the legal profession to reduce their impact on society, he said.
Lai’s comments came as political rivals have, for months, accused the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of using the judiciary to target the opposition.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has criticized raids on its local chapters and the indictments of more than 100 people, including party officials, for signature forgery and violations of the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) as politically motivated.
The raids and indictments took place amid heightened tensions between the KMT and the DPP, with both parties and their supporters attempting to launch recall petitions to remove each other’s lawmakers.
The Taiwan People’s Party has also protested the detention of its former chairman, Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who has been indicted on corruption and other charges, with prosecutors seeking a prison sentence of 28 years and six months.
After being held for one year, Ko — a former Taipei mayor and presidential candidate last year — was granted bail on Friday.
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