Political Party Responses | Democratic Progressive Party's Response to the JRF's Seven Questions on Judicial Reform

(The Judicial Reform Foundation published the responses from various political parties on January 8. The Democratic Progressive Party responded to the questionnaire on January 10.)

1. To protect the voting rights of prisoners, do the political parties support the establishment of polling stations and absentee voting systems within correctional institutions so that all prisoners can vote inside these facilities?

The Democratic Progressive Party has always placed the human dignity and freedom of personal development of all citizens as its top priority. We firmly believe that the right to vote is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, and that prisoners in correctional institutions should enjoy equal protection of this right. Recently, our party has also observed the administrative courts' recognition of the aforementioned values, issuing provisional injunctions ruling that the Taipei and Hualien prisons should set up polling stations for prisoners to exercise their electoral rights.

However, whether prisoners leave correctional institutions to exercise their right to vote or exercise it within polling stations set up inside the facilities, the relevant administrative departments must confront major controversies such as security management, as well as the secrecy and fairness of voting. These issues require further prudent study and planning.

In summary, grounded in the constitutional protection of people's fundamental rights, our party will facilitate opinion exchanges between relevant administrative departments, civil society organizations, scholars, and experts. We will deliberate on how to strike a balance between safeguarding prisoners' right to vote and addressing related controversies, thereby providing sufficient institutional protection.

2. To eradicate torture and establish a national preventive mechanism against torture, do the political parties commit to supporting the passage of the Enforcement Act of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in the Legislative Yuan within one year of taking office?

The Democratic Progressive Party believes that Taiwan is a democratic and human-rights-oriented nation that has always kept pace with international standards in valuing and promoting human rights. To this end, the Ministry of the Interior previously drafted the "Draft Enforcement Act of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and its Optional Protocol" in 2020. This initiative aims to further refine our increasingly robust human rights standards and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with like-minded democratic camps worldwide.

Moving forward, we will continue to promote and support relevant legislation on the existing foundation to achieve the goal of promptly passing the aforementioned draft enforcement act.

3. To prevent the leakage of personal data from information files collected and managed by the state, do the political parties commit to supporting a comprehensive revision of the Personal Data Protection Act within one year of taking office? Regarding the leakage of personal data collected and managed by government agencies, should there be an independent external investigative unit to clarify the facts and establish a comprehensive review and prevention mechanism?

Under the governance of the Democratic Progressive Party, the "National Human Rights Action Plan" published in 2022 already listed the "establishment of an independent privacy regulatory authority" as an action item. Subsequently, in response to the Constitutional Court's judgment in August of last year stating that "the government's protection of personal information privacy rights is insufficient, and an independent supervisory mechanism for personal data protection should be established," extensive discussions led to the conclusion that establishing an independent supervisory mechanism is the optimal approach. Consequently, in March of this year (2023), the Executive Yuan passed the draft amendment to the Personal Data Protection Act to establish an independent supervisory authority for personal data protection.

In May of this year, the Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of the amendments to certain provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act, resolving to establish the Personal Data Protection Commission. Non-public agencies that illegally leak personal data will be subject to administrative fines ranging from NT$20,000 to NT$2,000,000 and ordered to correct the violation within a specified time limit. Those failing to correct within the deadline may face fines of up to NT$15,000,000, thereby strengthening personal data protection from a legal perspective. On December 5 of the same year, the Executive Yuan held the unveiling ceremony for the "Preparatory Office of the Personal Data Protection Commission." This marks an important moment for taking the first step in national human rights action and a significant milestone in advancing personal data protection in our country. In the future, through the enactment of organizational legislation and the next phase of amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act, we will continue to strengthen and fully safeguard the rights and interests of citizens regarding personal data, ensuring that Taiwan's personal data protection meets international standards.

4. To establish a clean government and protect whistleblowers, do the political parties commit to supporting the passage of the Whistleblower Protection Act in the Legislative Yuan within one year of taking office? For whistleblowers who have not been protected in the past, do you support providing remedial measures?

The Democratic Progressive Party highly affirms the enactment of the Whistleblower Protection Act to "encourage and protect individuals who are aware of corruption cases and have the courage to step forward and report corrupt practices, thereby achieving the objectives of promoting integrity and combating corruption."

In fact, the formulation of the Whistleblower Protection Act involves "stable and efficient rolling adjustments and discussions." The Agency Against Corruption has progressively responded to various voices and revised the draft during each discussion meeting to prevent any "overcorrection" from happening in the future. In addition to considering that small businesses and other private sectors lack professional legal affairs departments and are unequipped to handle related circumstances—thus limiting regulations to publicly listed companies—the draft also incorporates regulatory accountability for malicious "vexatious whistleblowers." The Agency Against Corruption of the Ministry of Justice has recently submitted the latest legislative draft, and we trust that the Premier will complete the review of its contents as soon as possible and submit it to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation.

Prudent legislation to prevent "regulations from causing more problems" has always been a focus of our party, and our party will continue to facilitate the submission of the revised draft to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation.

5. To address the current lack of uniform standards and procedures in forensic science and to prevent wrongful convictions, do the political parties support the prompt establishment of a "National Forensic Science Commission"?

The Democratic Progressive Party agrees that forensic science and appraisal departments should have a dedicated agency to centrally plan relevant policies in order to effectively "enhance the techniques and applications of science-based investigations, thereby achieving the judiciary's pursuit of discovering the truth and avoiding miscarriages of justice."

Recently, the Ministry of Justice has drafted plans to restructure the Institute of Forensic Medicine into the National Institute of Forensic Science, which has already been submitted to the Executive Yuan for cross-ministerial discussions. This can be considered a major milestone in the organizational structure of forensic science.

Therefore, our party will assist administrative departments in continuing to incorporate diverse opinions, hoping to elevate the standards of our country's forensic science while ensuring the professionalism and impartiality of relevant appraisal agencies.

6. To address the issues of improper police law enforcement, reform police education, and enhance the efficiency and quality of law enforcement, do the political parties support the establishment of a "Police Special Project and Performance Management Commission" to formulate a reasonable and scientific performance evaluation system?

The Democratic Progressive Party pays close attention to the issues of police authority and working rights, and many of these problems may stem from our country's long-standing police performance evaluation system.

In this regard, we will approach the issue from the perspective of thoroughly reviewing the performance system, avoiding the packaging of performance metrics under the guise of various special projects that pressure grassroots police officers with formal numerical quotas and even risk driving them to engage in illegal search and seizure, thereby infringing upon citizens' rights. Simultaneously, building upon this foundation, we will demand the pragmatic execution of police duties and meticulous investigations, preventing prolonged and intensified work hours and workloads for police officers caused by the pursuit of performance figures, while alleviating the predicament of insufficient capacity within the police sector.

7. To systematically prevent and reduce misconduct by judges and prosecutors, do the political parties support amending the Judges Act to strengthen the supervisory responsibility of judicial heads over their subordinate judges or prosecutors?

Issues related to judicial workload, the positioning of prosecutors, and their powers and responsibilities heavily impact judicial capacity and our citizens' fundamental right of access to justice. Therefore, we strongly agree on the necessity of further studying and adjusting these matters based on the existing foundation of judicial reform. Examples include reviewing the unification of investigative authorities, evaluating the enactment of an Organic Act for the Prosecutors Offices, and clarifying the positioning of prosecutors. We will continue to advance judicial reform policies, hoping to horizontally integrate diverse opinions and implement crucial issues in the reform of the judicial system.

The Democratic Progressive Party deeply understands the importance of listening to the voices of the people and protecting their rights. The past efforts of the Tsai administration in judicial reform have already yielded initial results. However, facing ongoing public dissatisfaction with the judiciary, we will continue to advocate for a judicial system that is closer to the people's lives and serves the public, allowing citizens to tangibly experience the reform of the judicial system and build greater confidence in our judicial system.