TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Judges Association of the Republic of China criticized former KMT Disciplinary Committee Chair Yeh Ching-yuan (葉慶元) on Thursday for alleging political bias within the judiciary.
Yeh claimed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party has promoted judges with DPP sympathies to positions in courts of second instance or as presiding judges, per Tai Sounds. He also asserted that the lack of judicial independence is a known fact among judges.
The association called on Yeh to provide evidence and disclose his sources. If he cannot, they demanded he issue a public apology for undermining public trust in judicial neutrality.
The association said that since the passage of the Judges Act, active judges are prohibited from joining political parties or participating in political activities. The Judicial Yuan echoed the association’s concerns on Wednesday, stressing that the judicial promotion process is insulated from political interference, per Liberty Times.
The Judicial Yuan also expressed concern about increasing attacks on judicial independence.
In addition to his comments on the judiciary, Yeh also responded to Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Chen Gau-tzu’s (陳昭姿) remarks about the conditions for a potential TPP–DPP coalition, per UDN. One of conditions is the fair treatment or release of TPP founder Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is in detention.
The prosecution has accused Ko of granting Core Pacific City favorable floor-space ratio terms in exchange for financial benefits. Prosecutors allege that Ko’s former secretary, Hsu Chih-yu (許芷瑜), is in possession of a large portion of the bribes involved and has yet to return to Taiwan for questioning, per Storm Media.
Yeh argued that Ko's detention is tied to the ongoing investigation and suggested that Chen's comments about a coalition likely reflect her personal opinion at this stage.
