An NIA branch that’s above the law By Kao Jung-chih 高榮志 Monday, Sep 21, 2009, Page 8 ‘A brief investigation of the Special Operation Corps shows us that it has close to absolute executive and judicial power — the kind of power that is bound to lead to absolute corruption sooner or later.’ In a speech to mark Lawyers’ Day on Sept. 9, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that “absolute power corrupts absolutely,” adding that he was always aware of this and constantly reminded himself to fully respect the separation of powers and governmental checks and balances. The executive branch,…

Taiwan Indigenous Peoples against “Typhoon Morakot Post-disaster Recovery Regulation” The August 8th floods seriously struck southern Taiwan. It devastated the indigenous tribes by taking our people’ lives away, demolishing our houses and lands, leaving our livelihood in dire circumstances. The crisis of future cultural inheritance is unprecedented. Most of the disaster areas this time are the traditional territories of indigenous peoples. In the early days, many indigenous tribes were moved in cooperation with national policies or due to the social environment at that time. Some of them were moved because they were oppressed and then settled at where they live…

Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) source: http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1040604&lang=eng_news Legislators of the ruling and opposition parties have reached consensus Tuesday to swiftly pass the special reconstruction bill in the legislature so as to help victims of Typhoon Morakot rebuild their homes as quickly as possible. Legislators of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), the major opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and other smaller parties reached the agreement earlier Tuesday in a meeting, a three-day extraordinary session called by Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng to screen the bill. During the meeting, lawmakers gave their approval to the draft bill to allow it to be quickly referred…

Source: 2009 08 20 Taipei Times Groups campaigning for judicial reform yesterday protested their exclusion from “public hearings” on a bill to ensure the right to a speedy trial. Taiwan has a number of criminal cases that have bounced back and forth between the supreme and high courts for years. In one case, three former senior managers at a bank went through repeated trials for three decades before the verdict was finalized. The three were found innocent. Amid heavy criticism over such cases from legal experts and activists pushing for judicial reform, the Judicial Yuan is drafting a bill intended…