President 
Lai Ching-te cited his nomination of seven lawyers for county and city executive races as proof of his regard for the profession, at the Taipei Bar Association's Lawyers' Day celebration on Wednesday evening. He also pledged to draw up a national lawyer policy with the Judicial Yuan, the Ministry of Justice and the legal community, CNA reported. Also attending, the agency reported, were acting Judicial Yuan President Hsieh Ming-yan, Justice Minister Cheng Ming-chien and Defense Minister Wellington Koo.
What would the policy cover? Lai, who said he had heard the concerns of the legal community, listed three issues: the number of lawyers the country needs and the requirements for them, the professional scope and protection of lawyers, and higher legal-aid fees. A lawyer who defends a client does not thereby endorse the client's conduct, he said, and while clients enjoy the protection of the law, lawyers carrying out their work should be protected too. He also said Taiwan's move into the age of artificial intelligence would need lawyers' help with digital transformation, as would the country's 2050 net-zero goal.
Who are the seven nominees? Two of them, Democratic Progressive Party legislators Shen Po-yang and Su Chiao-hui, the party's candidates for mayor of Taipei and New Taipei, were at the event, and Lai introduced them in his speech, CNA reported. The other five are Lin Kuo-chang in Yilan, Huang Shih-chieh in Taoyuan, Chen Pin-an in Miaoli, Tsai Yi-yu in Chiayi County and Chou Chun-mi in Pingtung. People want first-rate county and city chiefs to govern their cities, he said, and the nominations showed his faith in lawyers was well placed. Lawyers can put their skills to work in any field and could even become president, Lai said; his predecessor, he said, was also a law graduate.
How did he describe the bar's role? The Taipei bar earns admiration not for its membership or caseload, Lai said, but for a record in Taiwan's democratic history of speaking up for human rights and for democracy, and of standing with the democratic movement. He said the association and lawyers nationwide had spoken out on major issues, from the threat Taiwan faces from China to the turmoil surrounding the Legislative Yuan. A former physician, Lai likened the two professions: doctors practise evidence-based medicine, he said, and lawyers, prosecutors and judges likewise work from the principle of evidence.
Figures referenced: Lai Ching-te. — JudgeMarket.
