JUSTICE MINISTER LAYS OUT THREE PRIORITIES FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 001185 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL KJUS KCRM PHUM TW CH SUBJECT: JUSTICE MINISTER LAYS OUT THREE PRIORITIES FOR U.S.-TAIWAN COOPERATION Classified By: AIT Director Bill Stanton, for Reasons 1.4(B) and (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: In her introductory meeting with Director Stanton on September 30, Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng laid out three priorities on which she hoped Taiwan and the U.S. could strengthen cooperation. She urged progress toward a U.S.-Taiwan extradition agreement, an issue she said enjoyed broad public support due to the high number of economic fugitives at large in the United States. The Minister also maintained that Taiwan's demonstrable record of improvements in counter-trafficking warranted Taiwan's return to Tier 1 status in the annual Trafficking-in-Persons Report. Finally, the Minister asked for more opportunities for Taiwan prosecutors to study in the United States and visit counterpart agencies. End summary. Judicial Reform, Reliability, and Extradition -------------- ¶2. (C) Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng told the Director on September 30 she hoped progress could be made toward a U.S.-Taiwan extradition agreement. The Director noted that some in Washington had expressed concerns about aspects of Taiwan's judicial process, such as pre-indictment detention. Minister Wang responded that pre-charge detention existed in many judicial systems and that the justifications for detention in Taiwan were similar to those in the U.S. and elsewhere. These included being accused of a felony offense, flight risk, threat to public safety, and fear of tampering with witnesses or evidence. That said, the government had researched how other countries handled pre-indictment detention and was reviewing the issue. ¶3. (C) Minister Wang noted that President Ma had fostered judicial independence as Minister of Justice in the 1990s and that even today he remained committed to judicial reform and human rights. Wang stressed her own background as a lawyer and social activist and emphasized the Ma administration's dedication to clean governance and an open, transparent judicial process. Wang remarked that Taiwan had open trials and public judgments, and welcomed inspections of its prison facilities. Tier 1 Efforts for Tier 2 Rank? -------------- ¶4. (C) Minister Wang wondered aloud why Taiwan was not ranked Tier 1 in the Trafficking-in-Persons Report and cautioned against using isolated incidents to over-generalize about problems. If Taiwan's efforts were lacking, said Wang, then the Tier 2 ranking would be understandable. In fact, she said, Taiwan had made prodigious efforts to combat human trafficking, including the passage of a comprehensive anti-trafficking law and the ratification of the two UN Human Rights Covenants. Taiwan had even passed an implementing law making its obligations under the two Covenants binding. The Ministry was currently coordinating government-wide efforts to assess existing statutes and regulations for conformity with the Covenants. The results would be announced in December, she told the Director. In the meantime, the Ministry of Justice had begun instituting human rights training for judicial and law enforcement officials. Moreover, said Wang, the Ministry of Education had incorporated the concepts of human rights and anti-human trafficking into the national curriculum. Cross-Strait Judicial Cooperation -------------- ¶5. (C) Cross-Strait judicial cooperation was proceeding under the Joint Crime Fighting and Judicial Cooperation Agreement signed in April, said Minister Wang. Taipei had already submitted more than 100 requests under the agreement, said Wang, but did not elaborate other than to add that China had yet to respond. TAIPEI 00001185 002 OF 002 U.S. Judicial Cooperation -------------- ¶6. (C) Minister Wang told the Director she would like more opportunities for Taiwan prosecutors to visit their counterpart U.S. agencies and to study in the United States. The Director noted the importance of these kinds of exchanges and promised to look for ways to further strengthen U.S.-Taiwan cooperation. STANTON