TURNING POINT? Lin Chin-fang's nomination marks the first time in the Republic of China's history that a woman has been named to a top post in the Judicial Yuan
By Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） yesterday announced her nominees for the president and vice president of the Judicial Yuan, saying that she was confident they would enhance judicial reforms.
Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission Chief Commissioner Hsieh Wen-ting （謝文定） was picked to succeed Rai Hau-min （賴浩敏） as president and Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Lin Chin-fang （林錦芳） to succeed Su Yeong-chin （蘇永欽） as vice president.
They were also named to the Council of Grand Justices.
Tsai made the nominations after accepting the resignations of Rai and Su, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang （黃重諺） said.
"Lai and Su offered their resignations, both verbally and in writing, shortly after Tsai was sworn in on May 20 to let Tsai make her own personnel arrangements in the judicial system. The president has expressed her gratitude and appreciation of their dedication and hard work," Huang said.
Tsai had sought the opinions of legal professionals before making the nominations, Huang said.
The nominations now go to the Legislative Yuan for approval.
Hsieh has served in the prosecutorial system and the Judicial Yuan for many years and has put forward ideas for judicial reform, Huang said.
"Judicial reform is the next priority of the Judicial Yuan," he said. "The president believes that Hsieh's experience will be helpful to the government's promotion of reforms and advancement of the judicial system, as it could ensure smooth communication within the Judicial Yuan while building the public's trust in the judicial system."
Lin is the first woman in the Republic of China's history to be nominated to be vice president of the Judicial Yuan.
"Tsai's nomination of Lin is aimed at tapping female judicial talent and increasing the percentage of female grand justices, which underscores the president's determination to implement gender equality," Huang said.
He downplayed a complaint from New Power Party Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang （黃國昌）, who said he could not accept Lin's nomination on the grounds that she was secretary-general of the Judicial Yuan when it promoted the controversial "observer jury system" in 2010.
"The system was promoted by Su during his term… Lin did not share Su's opinions on the system, nor did she approve of it," Alex Huang said.
In other developments, the Presidential Office released the guidelines for establishment of a preparatory committee for national affairs conferences on judicial reform.
The guidelines say that judicial experts would constitute less than half of the committee's 15 to 21 seats, which are to be filled by representatives from the government, civic groups and other organizations.
"The limit on the number of judicial experts is meant to ensure larger participation by civic groups, representatives of disadvantaged groups and academics in other fields as part of the government's reform efforts," Alex Huang said.
Quoting Tsai's inaugural address, he said the judicial system must respond to the public's needs and should be designed for everyone, not just legal professionals.
The committee has four missions: Gathering opinions from all sectors of society regarding judicial reform; endeavoring to reach a consensus and determine the direction of judicial reform; holding a national affairs conference on judicial reform; and giving counsel to the president on matters concerning judicial reform, the spokesman said.
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A bill requiring two weekly fixed days off （兩例） yesterday passed an initial review by the legislature's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, even though opposition legislators questioned the ability of the Ministry of Labor to enforce its proposal to require "one fixed day off and one flexible rest day" （一例一休）.
The bill sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Legislator John Wu （吳志揚） passed with only five of the committee's 15 legislators present.
It now moves to the general assembly, where cross-party talks are likely to reconcile it with the Executive Yuan's proposed bill.
While the three KMT lawmakers at the meeting passed a motion for the proposal to avoid cross-caucus negotiations, a petition by legislators in the general assembly can still force such talks.
"We hope to truly and fully realize a five-day workweek in the future," said KMT Legislator Alicia Wang （王育敏）, who set the committee agenda as this week's rotating convener. "One fixed day off and one flexible rest day would not be a truly progressive law."
Wu's proposal would bar workers from working on their fixed days off except in a crisis or emergency, although they could work on their flexible rest day if employers provide overtime pay or compensatory rest time.
In response to lawmakers' questions, Minister of Labor Kuo Fong-yu （郭芳煜） told the committee that the government's "one fixed day off and one flexible rest day" proposal would guarantee reduced work hours when combined with the ministry's plans to increase overtime pay, cut monthly overtime allowances and strengthen labor inspections.
Opposition legislators and labor groups have said the ministry's plans are too complicated.
"We need to return to the purpose of the five-day workweek, which is to remedy the long-term overwork that Taiwan's workers have suffered — the focus should be on ensuring that workers can rest, not overtime pay levels," the KMT lawmaker said, adding that some employers had reacted to the 40-hour week requirements by cutting pay and benefits.
"We want to get to the root of the problem by issuing a simple rule guaranteeing workers two days off every week," Wu said.
"It is a pity that realizing a 40-hour workweek has become so complicated," Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions general secretary Tai Kuo-jung （戴國榮） said.
He was one of several union and labor leaders who were invited by KMT and New Power Party lawmakers to speak to the committee.
"We believe that any 'consensus' reached between employers and employees for overtime on the flexible rest day will be fake — employers can use evaluations and promotions to force employees to except overtime, even if they are unwilling," Tai said.
"What workers really care about is having days off that they can use flexibly," Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chung Kung-chao （鍾孔炤） said, calling for workers' annual leave to be increased in lieu of having two fixed days off.
Even if final legislation requires two fixed days off, employers could require workers to separate their weekly days off for scheduling convenience, while many workers would lose substantial overtime pay, plus it would be difficult to enforce, he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Legislator Alicia Wang yesterday speaks at a legislative committee meeting in Taipei in favor of legislation to enforce a five-day work week. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
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MISSILE INCIDENT: Katharine Chang said the Mainland Affairs Council has sent two text messages to China, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the US
By Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
The Mainland Affairs Council （MAC） yesterday said the nation no longer has a smooth communication channel with China since the new administration was sworn in, as a cross-strait hotline remained ineffective during an incident involving a missile fired by mistake on July 1.
In a question-and-answer session at a meeting of the legislature's Internal Administration Committee in Taipei focused on the aftermath of the incident, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang （張小月） said the communication channel between Taipei and Beijing no longer runs as smoothly as it did before the Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） administration took office on May 20.
The council had twice contacted China's Taiwan Affairs Office about the incident on July 1 and July 2. Both contacts were made via text message, Chang said.
Chang did not directly respond to questions as to whether China replied to the council's messages.
The council on July 1 also authorized the Straits Exchange Foundation to send a fax to China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits to explain the incident, she said.
When asked by Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Legislator Huang Chao-shun （黃昭順） why the council did not contact its Chinese counterpart using the hotline, Chang said the council "had tried every possible means to communicate."
The council did not dispatch officials to improve communication with China following the incident, but it is planning to implement more effective methods of communication, Chang said.
KMT Legislator Lin Li-chan （林麗蟬） questioned the government's ability to maintain a smooth cross-strait communication channel, saying China had ignored the council's messages and the government only seems able to communicate with Beijing through the media.
"Communication [with China] is not as smooth as it was. However, we think it is extremely important to have a stable communication channel following the missile incident," Chang said. "I do not think such an incident would happen again, but we need to be prepared. We sincerely hope China could take a pragmatic approach to deal with such a 'crisis,' as misunderstanding can be prevented if there is a good communication channel."
Responding to remarks made by China's Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun （張志軍） that the missile was launched in the direction of China, Chang said the government informed the US of the missile incident before informing China. She said the council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs performed their duties separately, but that the information was delivered to the US and China almost simultaneously.
Deputy Miniser of Foreign Affairs Leo Chen-jan Lee （李澄然） said the ministry told officials at the American Institute in Taiwan about the missile incident on the afternoon of July 1.
While Chang said a cross-strait hotline had been "disconnected" after the new administration was sworn in, DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi （李俊俋） said the hotline had also not been in use when former president Ma Ying-jeou's （馬英九） administration was in office.
"The government could not reach Chinese officials via the hotline when the Kenya case [in which dozens of Taiwanese were deported from Kenya to China for suspected involvement in telecom fraud in April] broke out," Lee said, questioning whether China had unilaterally closed the communication channel.
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang, left, and Coast Guard Administration Director-General Lee Chung-wei attend a meeting of the legislature's Internal Affairs Committee yesterday in Taipei. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
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