President Ma Ying-jeou and Vice President Wu Den-yih invited the presidents, vice presidents, and secretaries-general from four of the five yuan (i.e. the five branches of the ROC government) to the Presidential Office on the evening of June 26 for a reception. (The Legislative Yuan was not represented at the meeting because it was in extraordinary session.) The government leaders exchanged opinions on a wide range of issues, including the referendum on whether to halt construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, reform of the nation's pension system, judicial reform, and human rights.
In remarks, the president first expressed his deepest appreciation to the presidents, vice presidents, and secretaries-general of the five yuan for their efforts to promote national policies over the past half year. President Ma noted that the state of the international economy remains precarious, and Taiwan faces a number of problematic issues. Nonetheless, the government is working actively to promote its agenda, he said, adding that it is facing issues and making progress.
Regarding the decision on whether to continue or halt construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, the president stated that after the Lunar New Year this year the government announced that the Legislative Yuan would put the matter to a referendum. Even though the Legislative Yuan was unable to address this matter during its extraordinary session, the president expressed hope that a decision would be reached during the next one. In addition, the president said, last October he invited the heads of the Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, and the Examination Yuan to a meeting to discuss reform of the pension systems for laborers, the military, civil servants, and teachers. The government is hard at work on this front, he noted, pointing out that the Examination Yuan has forwarded a draft bill on civil service pension reform to the Legislative Yuan for deliberations. Unfortunately, he said, lawmakers were unable to get to the screening of this proposed legislation during the recent extraordinary session of the legislature, but hopefully they will address it in the next one. Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan is proactively promoting follow-up measures to stimulate economic growth at home, he remarked. As for the screening of legislation on 12-year public education, the president called for passage of bills by no later than the following day so this extraordinary session could yield more concrete results besides the approval of amendments to capital gains tax legislation.
In discussing achievements in the Legislative Yuan's oversight of the government, President Ma stated that the third session of the current Legislative Yuan passed 90 pieces of legislation. Among these, there were 19 (four bills concerning the Executive Yuan, six related to the Judicial Yuan, and nine organic reform bills) that were urgently needed. President Ma opined that even though progress on some of the bills did not meet the expectations of the public, at least progress was made. He expressed confidence that these efforts would be beneficial to society.
With respect to the institution of a lay judge system and other judicial reforms, the president stated, a lay judge system touches on the overall image of the justice system, the attitude of the public toward the system, and interaction between the courts and society, all of which are very important. The president commented that a number of public opinion surveys have indicated strong support for a lay judge system, and even though this was not on the agenda for this extraordinary session of the legislature, the government will continue to promote the institution of this system. In addition, the president noted, over the past few years the Judicial Yuan has obtained passage of the Criminal Speedy Trial Act and the Judges Act. These reform measures have had a wide-ranging and immediate impact, he said.
In mentioning the achievements of the Control Yuan as a government watchdog, President Ma stated that the fourth Control Yuan, since its inauguration in August 2008, has impeached a total of 223 individuals, of whom more than 60% have been high-ranking civilian officials. President Ma stated that under the leadership of Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (王建煊) and Control Yuan Vice President Chen Jinn-lih (陳進利), that agency has placed heavy emphasis on the protection of human rights. President Ma said it is particularly significant that the ROC has produced its first national human rights report in both Chinese and English versions, and that a group of international human rights experts was invited to Taiwan at the end of February this year to review the report.
The president furthermore explained that since the ROC lost its representation in the United Nations (UN) in 1971, it has been unable to have its human rights reports reviewed within the UN, so the ROC government specially invited a group of experts to the ROC to review the document. At the same time, local NGOs were also included in the proceeding, and were thus able to communicate directly with the foreign experts. President Ma said that the government has incorporated two UN human rights covenants – the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – into domestic law, which ensures that the ROC respects the UN, and also highlights Taiwan's determination and pledge to protect human rights. These moves, he noted, have been recognized and applauded by the experts and scholars who came to Taiwan.
President Ma also expressed hope that each of the five yuan will continue to embrace the spirit of reform and work together to create new horizons for the nation, as well as to seek the greatest wellbeing for the public.
Government leaders attending the reception included Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), Judicial Yuan President Hau-Min Rai (賴浩敏), Examination Yuan President Kuan Chung (關中), Control Yuan President Wang, Vice Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), Judicial Yuan Vice President Yeong-Chin Su (蘇永欽), Examination Yuan Vice President Wu Jin-lin (伍錦霖), Control Yuan Vice President Chen, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁), Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Jiin-fang Lin (林錦芳), Examination Yuan Secretary-General Hwang Yea-baang (黃雅榜), and Control Yuan Secretary-General Chen Feng-yi (陳豐義).