President Ma Ying-jeou met with the nation's judicial leaders at a banquet at the Presidential Office on the evening of November 9 and expressed his thoughts on the state of judicial reform, which he said is being closely watched by the public.
President Ma stated that private groups in September of this year initiated the White Rose Movement to protest a recent court judgment, while a verdict by the Taipei District Court delivered on November 4 in a case involving alleged bribery in the second stage of banking reform (made by former President Chen Shui-bian) shocked society and was widely criticized. These events demonstrate that judicial reform must be expedited to restore public confidence in the nation's judiciary, he said, adding that as president he is unable to intervene in the judgments of individual cases since he must strictly abide by the principle of separation of powers within the government. He remarked that this was a pledge he made to the electorate during his campaign for the presidency. The president said that as Taiwan becomes a mature democracy under the rule of law, the head of state must lead by respecting the law.
The president stressed, however, that respecting the law does not mean brushing aside public disappointment and anger over verdicts made by a handful of judges that fly in the face of common sense. He pledged that the government will make every effort to promote comprehensive, participatory reform of the judicial system. In particular, he said that a number of measures are being taken to crack down even more forcefully on corruption. These measures include passage of a Judges Act, the establishment of a mechanism for the dismissal of unqualified judges, and the drafting of an organic law governing the creation of a "Clean Government Administration" under the Ministry of Justice. The public urgently hopes to see concrete results from all of these initiatives and the government must spare no effort in passing related reform bills at the earliest possible date, he said.
President Ma stated that while the judiciary must of course be independent, it cannot allow itself to lose touch with society. The judiciary, he said, cannot thumb its nose at the public's reasonable expectation that it ensure justice. President Ma explained that when his party returned to power two years ago, he repeatedly forbade political meddling in judicial cases, a position that he has always held; however, the fact that the judiciary is free of political interference presents us with a whole series of questions that must be addressed. How well does the judiciary govern itself? How ethical are judges? Are their rulings any good? Do they handle cases efficiently? The public is dissatisfied on all these fronts. These are areas where the government must take decisive action to reform the system.
President Ma believes that while establishing systems to promote judicial reform is important, just as critical is the employment of the right individuals. It is for this reason, he said, that early this year he nominated Huang Shyh-Ming, who is known for his integrity and courage, to serve as prosecutor-general. Prosecutor-General Huang has led an investigation (dubbed the "Internal Cleanup Campaign") for the past four months focusing on judges suspected of accepting bribes, and on November 8 charges were filed against a number of judges and other persons. These moves, he said, are restoring faith in the judicial system and generating confidence that the government has both the means and the will to carry through with judicial reform. The president added that prosecutors have already decided to file an appeal in response to the verdicts issued in a case involving charges of bribery in the second stage of banking reform.
President Ma furthermore pointed out that he has instituted many concrete reforms since taking office over two years ago. For instance, amendments have been made to the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Fair and Speedy Criminal Trials Act was formally implemented on September 1 of this year. Meanwhile, the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act will be amended and renamed the Criminal Compensation Act. At the same time, in order to reflect international trends as well as changes in the structure of society, and economic development, on April 30 of this year amendments were completed to the Law Governing the Application of Laws to Civil Matters Involving Foreign Elements, which will protect the rights of persons in litigation and during review. In addition, amendments to the Code of Administrative Procedure have been passed. Lastly, the president noted that on January 1 of this year, the Ministry of Justice purchased over 400 computer screens so that persons suspected of crimes will be able to watch indictment hearing proceedings on screen just as the accused in a court trial is able to do. This will help to boost the accuracy of depositions and reduce the need to re-inspect the depositions after they are taken, he said.
President Ma urged the Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, and judicial agencies to work together for judicial reform and deliver the results that the public urgently wants to see.
Persons attending the banquet included Vice President Vincent C. Siew, Premier Wu Den-yi, Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng, Judicial Yuan President Henry Rai, Judicial Yuan Vice President Yeong-chin Su, Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu, and Prosecutor-General Huang Shyh-Ming.