An Open Letter to KMT Chairman Lien

Chairman Lien,

Seeing you go to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office recently to file a lawsuit against the Democratic Progressive Party's presidential campaign team has filled us with a myriad of emotions! Today, you look to the judiciary to protect your family's and your personal reputation, but at this critical juncture when judicial reform is most in need of support, where are you?

Chairman Lien's Past Commitments to Judicial Reform

The National Judicial Reform Conference held in 1999 (the 88th year of the Republic) was not only an important judicial reform achievement of the KMT administration, but when Chairman Lien attended the closing ceremony of the conference in his capacity as Vice President and delivered remarks, he affirmed the conclusions of the conference and clearly proclaimed: "It is hoped that all relevant government legislative, executive, and other departments in the future can cooperate with the needs of judicial reform and jointly complete the major project of judicial reform."

Later that year, on August 13, attending the closing ceremony of the 4th National Strategy Research Class and the 2nd Female Executives Class in his capacity as Vice President, you once again promised: "There is still room for reform in aspects such as the organization of our judicial system, the judicial trial process, the ethos of judicial personnel, and the self-discipline of judicial personnel. Not long ago, the National Judicial Reform Conference just concluded, providing concrete recommendations on these issues, and I also hope to accelerate and press forward with this work."

Who would have thought that Chairman Lien's solemn support for judicial reform back then still echoes in our ears, while the current conduct of KMT legislators in the parliament goes completely in the opposite direction, leaving us deeply disappointed!

The Contrary Actions of KMT Legislators Today

Taking the "Amendment to the Judicial Yuan Organization Act" as an example, some KMT legislators first proposed an amendment version in the previous session (the 3rd session of the 5th Legislative Yuan) that was criticized by all sectors as "contrary to reform," "with questionable motives," and "crude in legislation." Subsequently, in the current session (the 4th session of the 5th Legislative Yuan), they joined forces with legislators from other opposition parties, using various heavy-handed tactics (such as violating the legislative deadline explicitly mandated by Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 530) or passive boycotts (such as rendering the cross-party consultation mechanism dysfunctional) to keep the "Amendment to the Judicial Yuan Organization Act" bogged down in the Legislative Yuan to this day, failing to pass. Even Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pying, when receiving representatives from the "Three Major Judicial Reform Acts Promotion Alliance" recently, uttered harsh words: "If KMT-affiliated consultation representatives cannot cooperate with consultations, the KMT should decisively replace them."

The KMT Has Degenerated into an Obstacle to Judicial Reform

Comparing Chairman Lien's impassioned rhetoric on judicial reform back then with the actual conduct of KMT legislators today, we cannot help but wonder whether the KMT, and Chairman Lien in particular, are "saying one thing and doing another." Otherwise, how could they allow a minority of party-affiliated legislators to use various crude excuses to block bills crucial to the overall judicial reform process? Or perhaps Chairman Lien and the KMT are currently focused solely on securing political power, unconcerned that they have transformed from self-proclaimed "promoters of judicial reform" into obstacles to it!

Three Calls to Action by the Three Major Judicial Reform Acts Promotion Alliance

To ensure a better tomorrow for the judiciary so that it does not degenerate into a tool for politicians' election campaigns, we hereby solemnly make the following three calls to the KMT and Chairman Lien:

1. The KMT should instruct the KMT legislative caucus to pass the amendments to the Judicial Yuan Organization Act in this current session (i.e., the 4th session of the 5th Legislative Yuan).
2. The content of the amendments to the Judicial Yuan Organization Act should conform to the conclusions of the National Judicial Reform Conference.
3. The amendments to the Judicial Yuan Organization Act should take effect on the day of promulgation.

After all, on the road of judicial reform, a chairman who cannot even stand up (Lien Chan) might be able to wait, but the public has reached the limit of their patience and can no longer tolerate judicial reform bills standing still!

Sincerely, Three Major Judicial Reform Acts Promotion Alliance

※ Published in: Liberty Times