Taiwan: Legal Response to Covid-19 - Taiwan (disputed) tw C-F Lin - Oxford Constitutional ...

Page created by Bernice Hodges
 
CONTINUE READING
Taiwan: Legal Response to Covid-19
        Taiwan (disputed) [tw]

        C-F Lin

        Content type: Encyclopedia entries
        Article last updated: July 2021

  General editors: Prof. Jeff King; Prof. Octavio Ferraz
  Area editors: Prof. Tendayi Achiume; Prof. Alan Bogg; Dr. Natalie Byrom; Prof. Cathryn Costello; Prof.
  Nicola Countouris; Prof. Colleen Flood; Prof. Eva Pils; Prof. Nico Steytler; Dr. Silvia Suteu; Dr. Bryan
  Thomas; Dr. Michael Veale; Dr. Pedro A. Villarreal

  © The several contributors 2021. Some rights reserved. This is an open access publication, available
  online and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0
  International (CC BY-NC 4.0), a copy of which is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/
  4.0/. Enquiries concerning use outside the scope of the licence terms should be sent to the Rights
  Department, Oxford University Press.

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
Preferred Citation: C-F Lin, ‘Taiwan: Legal Response to Covid-19’, in Jeff King and Octávio
  LM Ferraz et al (eds), The Oxford Compendium of National Legal Responses to Covid-19
  (OUP 2021). doi: 10.1093/law-occ19/e18.013.18

  Except where the text indicates the contrary, the law is as it stood on: 22 April 2021

  I. Constitutional Framework
  1. Taiwan1 is a democratic republic with a codified constitution.2 The President serves as
  the head of the State and represents Taiwan in foreign relations.3 Following the fourth
  amendment of the Constitution in 1997, Taiwan has been considered a semi-presidential
  state—the President is directly elected by the people, while the Premier of the Executive
  Yuan (Prime Minister) is appointed by the President without the consent of the legislature.4

  2. Taiwan is a unitary state. Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of Taiwan, modified the
  concept of the separation of powers and divided the government into five powers: The
  Presidential or Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, the Judicial Yuan, the Examination
  Yuan, and the Control Yuan. The Judicial Yuan has the power to exercise constitutional
  judicial review on the laws enacted by the Legislative Yuan. 5 The Legislative Yuan has the
  power to review the budget plan proposed by the Executive Yuan.6 The President, as the
  executive power, has the power to nominate the Grand Justices of the Judicial Yuan.7 As for
  the Examination Yuan, it is in charge of the employment of civil service personnel, which is
  the authority of the executive power in a traditional separation of powers model,8 while the
  Control Yuan is in charge of impeachment, censure, and auditing of all the other
  government departments, traditionally the duty of the legislative branch.9 Suggestions have
  been made to abolish the Examination Yuan and the Control Yuan.10

  3. The Communicable Disease Control Act 2019 (CDC Act) serves as the framework for
  government actions regarding matters of communicable disease control as well as during
  public health emergencies.11 The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the central competent
  authority designated by the CDC Act, is empowered to formulate policies and plans for the
  prevention and control of communicable diseases, as well as supervise, command, guide,
  and assess local competent authorities in the execution of related matters. The local
  competent authorities should develop and implement plans according to the communicable
  disease control policies and plans formulated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and
  locality-specific disease control practices, reporting to the central government agency for
  reference.12

  4. In consideration of the severity of domestic and international epidemic conditions, the
  Ministry of Health and Welfare may establish a Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC)
  and assign one person to be the commanding officer who will supervise and coordinate
  governmental and non-governmental organizations.13 The establishment of a CECC requires
  the approval of the Executive Yuan.

  5. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, particularly the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) (a
  subordinate agency to the Ministry), has the exclusive power to determine and declare
  public health emergencies.14 On 20 January 2020, in response to the growing severity of the
  Covid-19 epidemic around East Asia, the CDC established the CECC according to the Article
  17.1 of the CDC Act,15 with the Minister of Health and Welfare as the chief commander and
  high-ranking officials from other ministries as core members.16 Such constitutional
  arrangements, as detailed in this Part, have not changed in response to the pandemic.

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
II. Applicable Legal Framework
  A. Constitutional and international law
  6. The President may, by resolution of the Executive Yuan Council, issue emergency
  decrees and take all necessary measures to avert imminent danger to the security of the
  State or people, or to cope with any serious financial or economic crisis. Such decrees shall,
  within 10 days of issuance, be presented to the Legislative Yuan for ratification. Should the
  Legislative Yuan refuse to ratify, said emergency decrees shall forthwith cease to be valid.17
  During the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has not issued an emergency decree.
  Although the opposing party and some scholars have proposed that the president should
  issue an emergency decree, the President has declined to do so based on the sufficiency of
  the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia
  with Novel Pathogens (‘Covid-19 Special Act’) in dealing with the pandemic. This decision
  may also have been partially informed by the past bitter experience of the rule of martial
  law in Taiwan.18

  7. According to the Judicial Interpretation No. 543, emergency decrees are proclamations
  made by the President to deal with imminent dangers or major crises, which are directly
  authorized by the Constitution and have the effect of temporarily replacing or altering the
  law.19 Thus, emergency decrees rank as law in legal hierarchy. If the emergency decree has
  restricted freedom or rights of the people, it could also be scrutinized by the Grand Justices
  of the Judicial Yuan.20 Furthermore, if there exist disputes over the formality of announcing
  the emergency decree, people or government institutions could petition the Judicial Yuan
  for an interpretation.21

  8. Due to its political status, Taiwan is a party to a limited number of international treaties
  and organizations, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) which Taiwan has been a
  Member of since 2002. Like most WTO Members, Taiwan also restricted the export of face
  masks at the outbreak of the pandemic, derogating from the national treatment provision in
  the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT).22

  9. Exclusion from the international community has prevented Taiwan from benefiting
  through information-sharing and collective efforts underpinned by the World Health
  Organization (WHO) multilateral framework.23 In terms of domestic regulation, Taiwan has
  adopted standards higher than those of other WHO members. In regard to testing and case
  definition, Taiwan still follows WHO standards and updates disease information and virus
  sequences on International Health Regulations platforms.24

  B. Statutory provisions
  10. Statutory measures in response to a pandemic are set out in the CDC Act, first enacted
  in 1944 by the Nationalist Government in Nanjing. With several revisions, the CDC Act
  continues to serve as the primary legal basis for public health measures in Taiwan.25

  11. Notably, the CDC Act was carefully re-evaluated and amended after the SARS
  outbreak.26 For instance, in Judicial Interpretation No. 690, the Constitutional Court upheld
  the constitutionality of the ‘necessary measures’ of the CDC Act.27 According to the
  interpretation, the compulsory quarantine imposed during the SARS epidemic did not
  violate the principle of legal clarity, the principle of proportionality, or due process of law.
  Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court warned that the CDC Act must set a time limit for
  quarantine, as well as provide adequate compensation for the people who were
  quarantined.28 As a whole, Taiwan’s responses to this pandemic have been based on its

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
experience with the SARS outbreak, through well-established legal and institutional
  foundations and a cohort of experienced technocrats.29

  12. After 20 legislators proposed the Covid-19 Special Act on 19 February 2020, it only
  took 6 days before it was passed and promulgated.30 It is worth noting that the ruling party,
  the Democratic Progressive Party, had won a major victory in the general election of the
  President and the Legislators on 11 January 2020. The result may have granted the
  President and Executive branch an advantage in passing the bill in the Legislative Yuan.

  13. On 25 February 2020, Taiwan’s legislature passed the Covid-19 Special Act with a total
  of 19 Articles, authorizing an initial special budget of NT$60 billion (US$2 billion). As the
  pandemic worsened around the world, the Act was amended, expanding the special budget
  by NT$150 billion.31 The implementation period extends from 15 January 2020 to 30 June
  2021, while the penalty clauses were implemented on the day of promulgation. The Act may
  be extended with the approval of the Legislative Yuan upon expiry.32

  14. Article 7 of the Covid-19 Special Act states that ‘[t]he Commander of the Central
  Epidemic Command Center may, for disease prevention and control requirements,
  implement necessary response actions or measures.’33 This grants a generalized
  authorization of the CDC’s exclusive power. However, the Act is set to expire on 30 June
  2021.

  15. Article 7 of the Covid-19 Special Act has raised concern from the some opposing
  parties to the current administration and human rights organizations like the Taiwan
  Association for Human Rights.34 The executive order given by the Ministry of Education
  that forbade students from going abroad (except graduate/undergraduate students and
  professors), based on Article 7, was especially concerning.35 The order limited the freedom
  of change of residence protected by the Constitution36 without adequate legal
  authorization, and has raised dispute about proportionality. Furthermore, Article 8 of the of
  the Covid-19 Special Act states that ‘[w]here an individual subject to isolation or quarantine
  during the disease prevention period violates isolation or quarantine orders or intends to
  violate such orders, the Commander of the CECC may instruct personnel to record videos
  or photographs of the individual’s violation, publish their personal data, or conduct other
  necessary disease prevention measures or actions.’37 This Article has been condemned by
  scholars for violating the principle of proportionality.

  16. Based on Article 9 of the Covid-19 Special Act, which indicated that appropriate
  compensation should be granted for those industries, people, and medical staff severely
  affected by Covid-19, Regulations Governing Disease Prevention Compensation During
  Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens Isolation and Quarantine Periods38 and
  Regulations Governing the Operational Procedures and Compensation for Expropriation of
  Manufacturing Equipment and Raw Materials of Disease Prevention Supplies for Severe
  Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens39 were promulgated on 10 March 2020. According to the
  compensation regulations, any quarantined/isolated individuals or caregivers, that are
  determined by the competent health authorities to have complied with quarantine or
  isolation regulations, are to be compensated NT$1,000 per person per day.40

  17. The Covid-19 Special Act went through an amendment on 21 April 2020. Article 11 was
  amended to add NT$150 billion to the special budget due to the exacerbation of the
  pandemic around the globe.41 Article 9-1 was amended to waive taxes for subsidies and
  compensation provided to individuals or entities.42

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
C. Executive rule-making powers
  18. Article 7 of the Covid-19 Special Act grants the Ministry of Health and Welfare the
  power to ‘implement necessary response actions or measures’43 in response to urgent
  need.44

  19. With such authority, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has issued executive orders
  such as banning medical staff from going abroad,45 and temporarily closing nightclubs and
  ballrooms.46

  20. To ensure that government measures do not undermine people’s rights, the CDC
  established a legal group to examine the legitimacy of orders and policies from the CECC.47

  21. The Central Regulation Standard Act states that the name of a statute or ordinance is
  determined by its hierarchy in terms of legal status. A statute passed by the Legislative
  Yuan and promulgated by the President may be named an act, penal act, special act, or
  comprehensive act.48 An ordinance publicized by a government agency may be named an
  organic rule, norm rule, enforcement rule, directive rule, guidance rule, standard rule, or
  canon rule according to its nature.49 An ordinance issued by a government agency by its ex
  officio or delegated by statute must be announced or publicized according to its nature and
  submitted to the Legislative Yuan immediately.50

  22. The various kinds of executive acts issued by administrative authorities are defined and
  regulated in the Administrative Procedure Act. Briefly speaking, the acts are categorized
  based on whether they have legal effect, the people or agency they impact, and whether the
  act is for specific events.

  23. Administrative dispositions refer to a unilateral administrative act with direct external
  effects, rendered by an administrative authority in making a decision or taking other
  actions within its public authority, in respect of a specific matter in the area of public law.51
  These are the most common forms of executive acts.

  24. Where the persons subject to a decision or actions referred to in an administrative
  disposition are definable in light of their general characteristics, such a decision or action
  constitute a general disposition, to which the provisions herein set forth with respect to
  administrative dispositions shall apply.52

  25. Legal orders are established by an administrative authority as enabled by law in
  respect of general matters and applicable to a multiple number of non-specified persons. A
  legal order shall specify the authority conferred by law based on which it is established and
  shall not transgress the scope of such authority or divert from the legislative purposes of
  the enabling law.53

  26. Administrative rules refer to generalized and abstract provisions issued by a superior
  authority to its lower units or by a superior officer to their subordinate officers, by virtue of
  its or the superior officer’s powers, for the purpose of regulating the internal order and
  operation of the authority, with no direct external effects as legal norm.54

  27. Administrative guidance denotes the act of an administrative authority within the
  scope of its duties or the functions under its control to urge specific persons to perform
  particular acts or omission of acts, by way of the provision of aid, assistance, advice,
  recommendations, or other manners without mandatory force in law, for the purpose of
  achieving specific administrative objectives.

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
28. In this pandemic, most of the health measures are enacted through executive acts from
  the CECC under the generalized authorization of Article 7 of the Covid-19 Special Act.

  29. Anyone whose rights or interests were unlawfully or improperly injured by a central or
  local government agency’s administrative action, including ‘administrative disposition’ or
  ‘general disposition’, is entitled to file an administrative appeal,55 and subsequently an
  administrative litigation. As for ‘administrative guidance’, since they have no actual
  mandatory legal effects, where the person to whom administrative guidance is offered
  explicitly refuses to accept guidance, the administrative authority shall promptly cease to
  give guidance and shall refrain from taking any action against such persons.56

  30. People or agencies cannot file an administrative appeal or litigation directly for ‘legal
  orders’ and ‘administrative rules’ because such actions are not made for specific people or
  certain events. In Taiwan, only the Constitutional Court has the appropriate judicial review
  power. However, if a court strongly believes that the validity of an applicable statutory law
  on which the court’s decision of a pending case depends is in contravention of the
  Constitution, it may lodge a petition with the Constitutional Court for a judgment declaring
  the applicable law unconstitutional.57 Furthermore, according to Judicial Interpretation No.
  137, with regard to the administrative orders of statutory interpretation handed down by
  the government agencies in accordance with their respective authorities, the court may not
  refuse to apply them if they are applicable to the case. However, a judge shall, based on
  their fair and honest belief in the accurate interpretation of the law, give a lawful and
  legitimate legal opinion on a controversy which requires an accurate judicial
  interpretation.58

  31. General dispositions (or executive direction-giving powers) have been heavily relied
  upon to implement public health measures, such as those temporarily prohibiting certain
  medical staff, students, and faculty except university and graduate students from going
  abroad.

  D. Guidance
  32. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced
  several guidelines. From their context, the guidelines are not legally binding but advisory.
  The Guidelines for large-scale public gatherings in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, 59
  which references the WHO’s guidelines and experts’ suggestions, recommends that
  gatherings at high risk should be postponed or cancelled. The Guidelines for Prevention of
  SARS-CoV-2 Infection recommend that people wear masks and wash hands frequently.60
  The Guidelines for Enterprise Planning of Business Continuity in Response to the
  Coronavirus Disease 2019 suggest corporations evaluate the risk of infections in order to
  protect their staff while maintaining business operations.61

  33. The Taiwanese government has established both formal and informal channels to
  communicate with the public. National press conferences were held at least once a day and
  messages were sent through communication smartphone apps to the public if they
  subscribed. The CECC conferred information about new imported and indigenous cases,
  new and revised control policies, global prevalence and other related matters to the
  Taiwanese public. Additionally, the government has made an effort to combat disinformation
  through open communication that actively updates the public via social media with correct
  information, and has thus successfully controlled the spread of disinformation. The timely
  and consistent communication has also built trust among the public.62

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
III. Institutions and Oversight
  A. The role of legislatures in supervising the executive
  34. According to the Constitution, the Executive Yuan has the duty to present to the
  Legislative Yuan a statement of its administrative policies and a report on its
  administration. While the Legislative Yuan is in session, members of the Legislative Yuan
  can question Ministers and Chairmen of Commissions of the Executive Yuan.63 Since the
  sessions of the Legislative Yuan were not interrupted by the pandemic, legislators could
  keep tracking and questioning the orders made by the CECC. Also, if the Legislative Yuan
  does not concur on any important policy of the Executive Yuan, it may, by resolution,
  request that the Executive Yuan alter the policy.64

  35. Furthermore, based on Articles 61 and 62 of the Legislative Yuan Power Exercise Act,65
  executive decrees issued by any central government agency must be submitted to the
  Legislative Yuan to be either taken note of or be referred to a committee for examination.
  Should the Legislative Yuan determine that a decree contravenes, alters, or violates any
  law, or that a decree has regulated certain matters that should have been stipulated by law,
  it may, upon the resolution of the Yuan Sitting, inform the initiating government agency and
  ask them to revise or revoke the decree within two months. Should said governmental
  agency fail to do so, the decree is voided forthwith.66

  36. Above all, the Legislative Yuan has the power to decide by resolution upon statutory or
  budgetary bills.67 Such a power is often used by the legislature to contain the executive
  branch. For instance, the Legislative Yuan slashed the amount of special budget on the
  prevention and relief of the Covid-19 pandemic by NT$53 million in October 2020, which,
  according to the Executive Yuan’s proposal, was set to be NT$210 billion.68

  37. The Legislative Yuan may decide to terminate a law that grants a central government
  agency the right to issue corresponding executive decrees. However, such resolutions
  should follow a certain procedure, so the regulation-making powers of government cannot
  be terminated at any time.

  38. In addition to terminating a law, if the Legislative Yuan, according to the Constitution,
  does not concur on any important policy of the Executive Yuan, it may, by resolution,
  request that the Executive Yuan alter such a policy. With respect to such resolution, the
  Executive Yuan may, with the approval of the President of the Republic, put a request to the
  Legislative Yuan for reconsideration. If, after reconsideration, two-thirds of the Members of
  the Legislative Yuan present at the meeting uphold the original resolution, the President of
  the Executive Yuan shall either abide by the same or resign from office.69

  39. There is no periodical renewal of the regulation-making powers of the government.
  However, upon the resignation of the Premier of the Executive Yuan or the inauguration of a
  new president, the cabinet will resign. In the second scenario, such a move is a
  constitutional convention rather than a mandatory rule,70 so the Premier may be kept in
  office by the President. For instance, when the President was inaugurated in 2020, the
  Premier resigned in form and was then immediately reappointed by the President.71 In both
  cases, the Premier has the right to reshuffle the cabinet by recommending a new line-up to
  the President, who will then decide whether to appoint the candidates.72 The legislature
  basically plays no role in the appointment of the Premier and other cabinet officials.

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
40. Each year the Legislative Yuan holds two sessions of its own accord from February to
  the end of May, and from September to the end of December. Whenever necessary, the
  sessions may be prolonged as decreed by the law.73 At the request of the President or upon
  the request of not less than one-fourth of its Members, the Legislative Yuan may hold an
  extraordinary session.74 During the sessions, officials of the administrative branch are
  obliged to be present at the Legislative Yuan and be questioned.75

  41. With the signatures of more than one-third of the total number of Legislative Yuan
  members, the Legislative Yuan may propose a no-confidence vote against the President of
  the Executive Yuan. Seventy-two hours after the no-confidence motion is made, an open-
  ballot vote shall be taken within 48 hours. Should more than one-half of the total number of
  Legislative Yuan members approve the motion, the President of the Executive Yuan shall
  tender their resignation within 10 days, and at the same time may request that the
  President dissolve the Legislative Yuan. Should the no-confidence motion fail, the
  Legislative Yuan may not initiate another no-confidence motion against the same President
  of the Executive Yuan within one year.76

  42. The President may, within 10 days following passage by the Legislative Yuan of a no-
  confidence vote against the President of the Executive Yuan, declare the dissolution of the
  Legislative Yuan after consulting with the Legislative Yuan’s President. However, the
  President shall not dissolve the Legislative Yuan while martial law or an emergency decree
  is in effect. Following the dissolution of the Legislative Yuan, an election for legislators shall
  be held within 60 days. The new Legislative Yuan shall convene of its own accord within 10
  days after the results of said election have been confirmed, and the term of said Legislative
  Yuan shall be reckoned from that date.77

  43. The Executive Yuan may not extend its own powers without further action by the
  Legislative Yuan. Every move of a government agency should be authorized by the law, as
  enacted by the Legislative Yuan. If the executive branch acts in the absence of the law, such
  a move would be deemed invalid by all levels of the courts and the Judicial Yuan
  (Constitutional Court).78

  B. The functioning of the legislature where its ordinary business is
  disrupted
  44. During the pandemic, the Legislative Yuan, like other government agencies, also took
  some measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. For instance, when government officials
  attended meetings in the Legislative Yuan, they were asked to bring less staff with them to
  reduce the number of people in the same room. There were similar precautionary measures
  such as limiting the number of legislators’ staff who could enter the legislative conference,
  or designating specific spaces for journalists to interview officials and legislators.79

  45. The Secretary-general of the Legislative Yuan stated in March 2020 that the Legislative
  Yuan would use video conferencing for its sessions if there are two legislators or more
  confirmed with Covid-19.80 The Legislative Yuan also made preparations for possible virtual
  meetings as backup plans.81 Luckily, these backup plans have not been put into use, and
  both the legislature and committees of the Legislative Yuan have still operated normally
  during the pandemic. In contrast, some county councils decided to postpone their
  gatherings in March, hoping to reduce the consumption of epidemic prevention supplies
  and the risk of cluster infection.82

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
46. The Democratic Progressive Party, the ruling party, won a landslide victory in the
  general election of the President and the Legislators early in 2020,83 just before the
  outbreak of the pandemic. The results might have granted the President and her team
  enough public support and legitimacy to develop and adopt deploy-in-advance health
  measures.84 Nonetheless, in recognition of the broad and unlimited delegation of authority
  granted by Article 7 of the Covid-19 Special Act, some members of the Legislative Yuan
  proposed an amendment designed to strengthen democratic oversight.85 Furthermore, due
  to the outstanding performance in combating the pandemic, the Commander of the CECC
  earned exceptionally strong popularity,86 which has provided solid support for most (if not
  all) of the Commander’s measures. Such a development has to some extent been criticized
  by some politicians87 and the media,88 for creating an atmosphere that might have
  discouraged legislators from seriously scrutinizing or criticizing the CECC’s decisions.

  C. Role of and access to courts
  47. When the government upgraded the Covid-19 task force to Authorization Level 1 on 27
  February 2020, the Judicial Yuan enacted contingency measures to prevent the spread of
  Covid-19 and maintain normal operations during the outbreak. Such measures, which also
  applied to courts, include the reporting of infected staff, regular sanitizing of offices and
  facilities, and setting up alternative offices and backing up data in case of the need for staff
  to work separately.89 In addition, the general public and media’s access to court hearings
  was (slightly) affected as well. Due to the requirement of social distancing (physical
  distancing), only a limited number of audience members and news reporters were allowed
  to attend hearings in person; for those who did not get passes, there would be another room
  playing a live stream of the trial for them (available to a certain number of people as
  well).90

  48. On 5 March 2020, the Judicial Yuan published contingency measures for the
  examination of defendants in compulsory execution cases91 on the basis of the Regulations
  Governing Court’s Handling of Remote Interrogation in Criminal Cases.92 When a judge is
  informed that a defendant may be a potential Covid-19 patient, the judge may carry out
  remote interrogation after consulting with the prosecutor, defendant, and the defendant’s
  attorney, or set up quarantine facilities if there is a need for the defendant to attend court in
  person, etc.

  49. Several courts simulated online proceedings, though there were few cases conducted
  this way in practice. One example that can be found online is the interrogation of the
  possible mastermind of a syndicate; the suspect claimed that he had a fever after contact
  with someone travelling from abroad. In response, the prosecution and the court
  interrogated the suspect online. The suspect’s attorney interviewed the suspect online as
  well.93 In general, people are still allowed to enter court, unless they do not wear masks,
  and trials are carried out as usual, with everyone including judges, lawyers, and defendants
  wearing masks during the whole process, so there is no clear evidence showing that access
  to justice has been constrained by the outbreak and response measures.

  50. No emergency decree was issued during this pandemic. According to the Constitution,
  it is at the President’s discretion to decide whether there exists imminent danger affecting
  the security of the State or of the people, so as to announce an emergency decree or not.
  However, the President must follow the procedure of the Constitution, including
  authorization by resolution of the Executive Yuan, and the decree must be presented to the
  Legislative Yuan for ratification within 10 days.

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
D. Elections
  51. Despite the pandemic, all elections in Taiwan were carried out on schedule in 2020.
  After the CECC was set up in response to the pandemic on 20 January 2020, there have
  been more than 10 elections or by-elections and one recall so far, ranging from a town
  mayor to the mayor of Kaohsiung, a major city in Taiwan.94

  52. With high-standard preventive measures, such as taking voters’ temperatures,
  demanding that voters use hand sanitizer at the entrances of polling stations, asking voters
  to wear masks, and to queue maintaining physical distancing, all voters’ election rights
  have been guaranteed; even voters running a fever were allowed to vote, although they
  were asked to leave their names, ID numbers, and phone numbers, wear gloves provided by
  the polling station, and cast their ballots in a specific space.95 Only people under home
  quarantine were not allowed to vote, based on Article 65 of the Civil Servants Election and
  Recall Act.96 The largest election among them was the mayoral by-election of Kaohsiung, in
  which over 900 thousand voters participated. The voter turnout rates for previous regular
  elections were around 70 per cent. Although the turnout rate was only 41.82 per cent,97
  this is not unusual for a by-election.

  E. Scientific Advice
  53. Article 9 of the Enforcement Regulations Governing the Central Epidemic Command
  Center stipulates that the processing of information and recommendations for the response
  of each organization shall be reported to the responsible superior and organizations
  concerned.98 Even though the CECC has no duty to follow their recommendations, the
  CECC’s expert consultation meeting has played a critical role in Taiwan’s effort to contain
  the coronavirus. Experts from the domains of infectious diseases, paediatrics, virology, etc,
  met more than 25 times between 5 January and early June 2020, especially after the
  emergence of emergency public health incidents.99

  54. Another regulation, the Regulations Governing Operation of the Communicable
  Disease [sic], which was formulated in accordance with regulations of Article 14.4 of the
  CDC Act, says that the commanding officer in each communicable disease control medical
  network region may ‘invite experts and scholars in medical care, infection control and
  public health, and representatives of local competent authorities concerned to provide
  counselling opinions on matters concerning communicable disease control in the said
  region’.100 Likewise, experts’ opinions are not legally binding.

  55. There are also some advisory committees under the CDC, and the one related to
  Covid-19 response measures is the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP),
  which convened its first meeting in 2020 on 6 July to discuss the development of Covid-19
  vaccines,101 yet these advisory committees are more like task forces instead of statutory
  authorities, since there is no corresponding law for their establishment, and the publication
  of expert advice is not explicitly demanded by law, either.

  56. In addition, the National Health Research Institutes under the supervision of the
  Ministry of Health and Welfare also held several expert meetings to discuss the
  development of test kits, vaccines, and medicines, the establishment of a vaccine
  information research database, etc, with representatives from the government, industry,
  and academia.102

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
F. Freedom of the press and freedom of information
  57. The reporting on Covid-19 has to some extent been constrained by Article 9 of the CDC
  Act, which states that ‘when announcements regarding communicable disease outbreaks or
  information related to disease control measures released through mass media during the
  existence of the CECC are erroneous, not in accord with the facts and may result in
  undesirable outcomes on or have certain influences over the overall disease control efforts,
  corrections must be made immediately upon notification for correction by the competent
  authorities.’103

  58. In addition to the Communicable Disease Control Act, the Satellite Broadcasting Act
  has also played a role in regulating the press. Article 27 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act
  bans satellite broadcasting businesses from delivering content that ‘disrupt[s] public order
  or adversely affect[s] good social customs,’ and news that ‘violates the principle of fact
  verification and causes damage to public interest.’104 When it comes to the reporting on
  Covid-19, for instance, the National Communications Commission (NCC), the competent
  government agency for communications laws and regulations, fined the CTiTV NT$1.2
  million in September 2020 for falsely claiming that Taiwan was only six days away from
  lockdown in March 2020, which ‘disrupted public order’, said the NCC. A news channel was
  also fined for publishing news concerning Covid-19 that ‘violated the principle of fact
  verification.’105

  59. The freedom of information or speech was constrained as well. According to Article 14
  of the Covid-19 Special Act, ‘individuals who disseminate rumours or false information
  regarding the epidemic conditions of severe pneumonia with novel pathogens, causing
  damage to the public or others, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three
  years or criminal detention, or in lieu thereof or in addition thereto, a fine of no more than
  NT$ 3 million’,106 while Article 63 of the CDC Act also stipulates that ‘persons who
  disseminate rumours or incorrect information concerning epidemic conditions of
  communicable diseases, resulting in damages to the public or others, shall be fined up to
  NT$3,000,000.’107 Another law, the Social Order Maintenance Act, also punishes people
  who ‘spread rumours in a way that is sufficient to undermine public order and peace.’108
  Some individuals were thus fined or even arrested for spreading rumours regarding
  Covid-19 and the shortage of household necessities.109 For instance, a man who posted an
  article on a Facebook fan page accusing someone of being infected with Covid-19 in
  February 2020 was caught by the police and might be fined.110

  60. There has been no significant disruption to the access to information due to anti-
  Covid-19 measures. In fact, Taiwan is known for its large degree of transparency during the
  pandemic.111 In addition to daily press briefings by the Minister of Health and Welfare and
  by the CECC, the Vice President of Taiwan at that time—who is also a prominent
  epidemiologist—broadcast regular public service announcements from the Office of the
  President, and these were made available via the internet.112

  G. Ombuds and oversight bodies
  61. There is no specific ombudsperson in Taiwan. The Legislative Yuan, which has the
  power to pass statutory or budgetary bills proposed by the Executive Yuan, including
  agencies under the Executive Yuan, plays a key role in overseeing government actions.
  Another government agency that has similar functions is the Control Yuan, which, according
  to the Constitution, may propose corrective measures or institute an impeachment against a
  civil servant when that person is guilty of neglect of duty or violation of law,113 and the
  impeachment case will be tried by the Disciplinary Court subordinate to the Ministry of
  Justice. In addition to individuals, the Control Yuan may set up a certain number of
  committees to investigate the activities of the Executive Yuan and its various Ministries and

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
Commissions to determine whether or not they are guilty of violation of law or neglect of
  duty, and, if so, may propose corrective measures and forward them to the authorities
  concerned, demanding further improvement.114 If the authority fails or refuses to do so, the
  Control Yuan may file an impeachment case against the relevant civil servant(s) in
  response.115 During the pandemic, some Members of the Control Yuan visited local
  governments to inspect their responses to Covid-19.116 To date, no corrective measures
  concerning anti-coronavirus measures have been proposed against civil servants or
  government agencies.

  62. In practice, since members of the Control Yuan, including its President and Vice
  President, were nominated by the President and approved by the Legislative Yuan, the line-
  up of this agency is de facto from the pro-administration camp, so it can only play a limited
  role in overseeing the government’s actions. As a result, there have been calls to abolish the
  Control Yuan and return the power of investigation to the Legislative Yuan.117

  63. It is worth mentioning that civil society has also played a role in challenging the
  government’s moves. As some commentators have noted, ‘civil society organizations and
  the mass media have the capacity to supervise and monitor the legitimacy and legality of a
  government’s policies and measures, questioning them when deficiencies are found,’ which
  ‘enhance[s] the positive feedback loop between social concerns and the timing of the
  government’s responses, and urges the government to maintain its transparency,
  responsiveness, and accountability.’118 For instance, the Taiwan Association for Human
  Rights has been arguing that government actions cause possible harm to democracy,
  referring especially to the measures that help the authorities concerned track the
  whereabouts of a confirmed case and monitor people who are under quarantine.119

  64. Out of fear that Covid-19 regulatory measures may undermine human rights or cause
  legal disputes, a ‘legal division’ headed by the Deputy Minister of Justice was set up under
  the CECC on 21 April 2020 to provide legal advice almost three months after the CECC was
  established in January 2020.120 The division is composed of officials from the Department of
  Prosecutorial Affairs and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, as well as the
  Criminal Investigation Bureau under the National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior.

  IV. Public Health Measures, Enforcement and Compliance
  Taiwan has taken a proactive and precautionary approach towards the pandemic from the
  very beginning.121 In chronological order, there are three phases overall according to the
  severity of the pandemic. During the first phase (December 2019–April 2020), the CDC
  implemented additional inspection for inbound flights from Wuhan, China as of 31
  December 2019.122 Following the establishment of the CECC on 20 January 2020 and the
  promulgation of the Covid-19 Special Act on 25 February 2020, all control measures in
  response to the pandemic have been well coordinated by the CECC. For instance, the CECC
  launched a rationing system for face mask purchases in February 2020 to control panic
  buying, and imposed stricter border control and quarantine measures in March 2020.
  During the second phase (May 2020–November 2020), when the pandemic was easing in
  Taiwan in May 2020, the CECC loosened control measures and encouraged people to
  resume their normal lives and to maintain basic control requirements, such as physical
  distancing and personal hygiene.123 During the third phase (after December 2020), in
  response to the escalating pandemic situation globally, the Fall-Winter Covid-19 Prevention
  Program was put into force from 1 December 2020. 124 The Program aims to enhance

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
border quarantine control and strengthen community prevention as well as medical
  response measures.

  A. Public health measures
  1. Individual mobility restrictions on citizens (stay-at-home, curfews, etc)
  65. No ‘lockdown’ (individual mobility restriction measures) has been announced in Taiwan
  during the pandemic, since no community spread has emerged. However, it has been
  discussed, and several cities and counties have planned measures to cope with a potential
  imposition of a ‘lockdown’ situation. For instance, New Taipei City hosted a tabletop
  exercise to simulate government responses in the event of a widespread community
  outbreak on 20 April 2020. They simulated ‘lockdown’ measures like travel restrictions and
  identity checks, widespread school and business closures, and policies to ensure adequate
  food supplies at wholesale markets to prevent shortages on store shelves.125

  66. Nevertheless, during the SARS pandemic in 2003, a hospital was sealed off with more
  than 1000 people inside due to a suspected infection, after seven hospital staff developed
  possible SARS symptoms. The order was given by the newly established SARS Emergency
  Response Task Force of the Taipei City government. Medical staff and patients were
  required to return to the hospital to undergo collective quarantine for two weeks. The
  abrupt decision left the people in Hoping hospital in chaos and panic while the number of
  infections was still growing. It was not until the former health minister, Yeh Chin-chuan,
  entered the hospital and remained there, that proper measures were taken and order was
  restored. Over the course of a week, the staff and hospital workers were gradually moved
  out to other quarantine locations.126

  2. Restrictions on international and internal travel
  67. At the international level, under the broad authorization of Article 58 of the CDC
  Act,127 beginning on 26 January 2020, Chinese visitors from Hubei Province were denied
  entry.128 Eleven days later on 6 February 2020, all Chinese visitors, including those from
  Hong Kong and Macau, were prohibited from entering Taiwan.129 As the pandemic
  worsened, on 19 March 2020, all foreign travellers were banned from entering Taiwan, and
  Taiwanese citizens travelling back to Taiwan were to be quarantined for 14 days.130 On 24
  March 2020, all foreign travellers were banned from transit or transfer in Taiwan.131

  68. On 25 November 2020, the CECC announced that the Fall-Winter Covid-19 Prevention
  Program would be implemented starting 1 December 2020. Travelers were required to
  present a certificate of a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test result issued within three days
  prior to boarding their flight to Taiwan. Exceptions were made for emergency situations,
  travellers arriving from a country where self-paid Covid-19 tests are not available, and
  people travelling for programs managed by relevant ministries and agencies and approved
  by the CECC. The aforementioned measure is only applicable to Taiwan nationals, foreign
  nationals with an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC), and Hong Kong and Macao residents
  with an ARC; it is not applicable to transit passengers in Taiwan.132

  69. On the other hand, a temporary prohibition for Taiwanese people from going abroad,
  including medical staff, students, and faculty except university and graduate students, was
  announced by the CECC and Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education and Ministry
  of Health Welfare announced the orders as ‘general dispositions’,133 which would allow the
  affected individuals to seek legal remedy. Judging by the context, the people affected,
  though unspecified, are definable in light of their general characteristics. The government
  also made public announcements of these orders through government websites134 and news
  media as required by due process.135 The prohibition for students and teachers lasted until

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
the spring 2020 semester was over and the prohibition for medical staff lasted until 30 June
  2020, according to the announcement by the CECC.

  70. The executive orders temporarily prohibiting students, faculty, and medical staff from
  going abroad raised concern over what constitutes ‘necessary response actions or
  measures’ provided by Article 7 of the Covid-19 Special Act.136 The orders compromised the
  freedom of change of residence protected by Article 10 of the Constitution.137 According to
  the judicial interpretation made by the Constitutional Court, the right of people to enter or
  leave the country may be restricted in order to protect the security of the country and the
  order of society only if the restriction is stipulated by law and pursuant to the principle of
  proportionality elaborated in Article 23 of the Constitution.138 However, whether the
  aforementioned executive orders have passed the proportionality test remains in question.

  3. Limitations on public and private gatherings and events
  71. Guidelines for large-scale public gatherings in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak were
  announced by the CECC on 4 March 2020, modified to lift most of the limits on 29
  November 2020, limiting gatherings and events.139 The guidelines apply to assemblies such
  as meetings, speeches, or other mass activities held in public spaces or publicly accessible
  places as defined by Article 2 of the Assembly and Parade Act,140 as well as planned or
  spontaneous events attended by more than 1,000 people, following WHO guidelines about
  gatherings. The main points of the guidance include cancelling nonessential gatherings,
  especially those for entertainment, and maintaining a distance of at least one metre
  outdoors and 1.5 metres indoors.

  72. There are no enforcement rules or penalties stated in the guidance. However, under
  the grand authorization—that confers on the CECC the power to ‘implement necessary
  response actions or measures’ with little explicit limits—of the Covid-19 Special Act,141
  violation of response actions or measures instructed by the Commander of the CECC in
  accordance with Article 16 could be subject to a fine of no less than NT$50,000 and no
  more than NT$1 million by the central competent authority of the respective industry or the
  municipality or county (city) government.142

  73. The CECC has also announced crowd control at famous tourist attractions, night
  markets, and temples, etc starting 10 April 2020, due to the increase in reported suspected
  cases after the Qingming (Tomb Sweeping) Festival. For night markets, markets, and
  shopping districts, vendors should propose and conduct crowd-control plans including
  setting up only one entrance and maintaining the social distance (physical distance)
  between people and vendors. For the national parks, if the parking space has reached half
  full capacity, text messages will be sent to tourists encouraging them to change their
  destination. For temples, the local governments should establish crowd control and set up
  certain routes for people to visit.143

  4. Closure of premises and facilities (eg schools, shops, services, parks,
  churches, sport facilities)
  74. On 9 April 2020, all nightclubs and dance halls were closed mandatorily by executive
  order from the CECC,144 after news broke that a hostess at a well-known KTV bar continued
  working while experiencing symptoms.145 A total of 437 nightclubs and dance halls were
  shut down. But as the confirmed cases no longer increased in June 2020, the CECC
  announced that local governments could lift the shutdown with restraints gradually but
  should continue to supervise.146

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
75. In February 2020, the winter vacation for students was scheduled to end on 10
  February 2020. As the outbreak worsened, the opening of all high schools, middle schools,
  and elementary schools was postponed by two weeks until 25 February 2020 to reduce the
  chance of cluster infections while making more time for schools to prepare precautionary
  measures.147 As for universities, they were allowed to decide whether to postpone opening
  themselves; however, after several universities announced different dates, the Ministry of
  Education called a special meeting of representatives and they reached a consensus on
  universities opening on 25 February 2020.148

  5. Physical distancing
  76. The physical distancing in Taiwan is instructed by a series of guidelines which have no
  legal effects. The guidelines include Covid-19: Guidelines for Social Distancing149 and
  Strategies for Preventing Covid-19 Spread in Communities.150 The main recommendations
  of these guidelines are to keep a physical distance of 1.5 metres indoors and 1 meter
  outdoors between individuals, and face masks should be worn in crowded and unventilated
  places.

  77. There are no enforcement rules or penalties stated in the guidance, but under the
  grand authorization of the Covid-19 Special Act, violation of response actions or measures
  instructed by the Commander of the CECC in accordance with Article 7 could be subject to
  a fine of no less than NT$ 50,000 and no more than NT$1 million by the central competent
  authority of the respective industry or the municipality or county (city) government.151

  78. The CECC announced in their daily conference on 31 March 2020 that the physical
  distancing measures would be enforced in three steps. The first step is the formulation of
  guidance. The second is coaching people to follow the orders in order to make the guidance
  a daily custom for the public. If there are still people who do not follow the guidance, the
  third step is that they will be fined by the CECC or the municipality or county (city)
  government under Article 16 of the Covid-19 Special Act.152 So far there have been no
  cases reported of fines due to not maintaining physical distance.

  6. Use of face coverings and personal protective equipment (PPE)
  79. On 5 August 2020, the CECC urged people to wear masks in eight types of public
  venues, including healthcare facilities, public transportation, markets, learning spaces,
  sports and exhibition venues, religious places, entertainment venues, and large-scale
  events.153 Although this measure is not mandatory, most local governments, including the
  six major cities such as Taipei City and New Taipei City, have enacted regulations, based on
  Articles 37.1.6 and 70.1.3 of the CDC Act,154 to fine people who refuse to wear masks in
  certain venues. In late August, the city mayor of Tainan received his city's first mask
  violation ticket after removing his face covering during an elementary school indoor
  ceremony to take pictures.155 According to the mayor, the incident showed Tainan’s
  determination to fight the virus.156

  80. As the global number of confirmed cases rose sharply in late 2020, the CECC on 18
  November 2020 announced the Fall-Winter Covid-19 Prevention Program that began on 1
  December 2020, aiming to prevent the spread of Covid-19 through three aspects, namely
  ‘border quarantine’, ‘community prevention’, and ‘medical response’.157 In terms of
  community prevention, the CECC ordered people to wear masks in the following eight types
  of public venues: healthcare facilities, public transportation, places of consumption,
  learning places, sports and exhibition venues, entertainment venues, religious and worship
  places, and office and business venues. ‘Members of the public who do not wear a face
  mask as required and refuse to wear a mask after being advised to do so will be fined not
  less than NT$3,000 and no more than NT$15,000 according to Subparagraph 6, Paragraph

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
1, Article 37 of the Communicable Disease Control Act by the local government’ said the
  announcement.158 The expiration date of the Program, however, is not indicated.

  81. The CECC warned people that, according to Article 16 of the Covid-19 Special Act,
  violation of response actions or measures instructed by the Commander of the CECC in
  accordance with Article 7 could result in a fine by the central competent authority of the
  respective industry, municipality, or county (city) government.159

  7. Isolation of infected individuals and quarantine of individuals suspected of
  infection
  82. Quarantine measures are governed by the CDC Act. According to Article 48 of the CDC
  Act, for those who have been in contact with patients affected by communicable diseases or
  who are suspected of being infected, competent authorities may detain them or order them
  to move to a designated place for required measures.160

  83. According to Article 58 of the CDC Act, the competent authority may impose home-
  based quarantine, concentration-camp quarantine, isolation care, or other necessary
  measures on persons entering from areas affected by a communicable disease, contacts or
  suspected contacts of patients infected with a communicable disease, and patients infected
  or suspected of being infected with a communicable disease.161 Based on these articles, the
  CECC announced Precautions for People under Quarantine or Isolation.162 The
  announcement indicated what rules people should follow during their quarantine. It also
  states that people who violate the instruction in this announcement could be fined
  according to Article 15 of the Covid-19 Special Act. Though unspecified, the targeted
  subjects are definable in light of their general characteristics in the precaution
  announcement, which makes quarantine measures constitute ‘legal orders’ in the
  Administrative Act.163 The duration of such precautions are not specified in the
  announcement.

  84. As early as 26 January 2020, the CECC began imposing home quarantine on certain
  types of people, beginning with those returning to Taiwan from Hubei, China,164 based on
  Article 58 of the CDC Act,165 but it was not until 6 February 2020 that the CECC officially
  published a document imposing a 14-day home quarantine upon entry into Taiwan on
  everyone who has been to China.166 From 19 March onward, all Taiwanese returning to
  Taiwan have been required to observe a 14-day home quarantine, while all foreign nationals
  were barred from entering the country until late June (with conditions).167 So far, no matter
  what nationality, everyone entering Taiwan must undergo a 14-day home quarantine period;
  people who violate the rule may be fined up to NT$1 million, according to Article 15 of the
  Covid-19 Special Act.168

  85. As the first few cases were confirmed in Taiwan at the end of January 2020, people who
  had been in contact with confirmed cases have had to undergo 14-day home isolation based
  on Article 48 of the CDC Act.169 The major difference between home isolation and
  quarantine measures, except for the articles of law concerned and risk of suspected
  infection, is that the health status of individuals under home isolation will be checked twice
  a day by the health authority, while that of those in quarantine is checked once a day by
  local borough chiefs, who record the information obtained.170

  86. To make sure that people remain under home isolation and home quarantine, the
  government deployed a ‘Digital Fencing Tracking System’ on 18 March 2020. Combined
  with the ‘Entry Quarantine System’, the system utilizes mobile phone tracking to monitor
  people’s whereabouts, and, through mobile phones’ tracking of people under home
  quarantine, if a quarantined individual unlawfully leaves the quarantine area, the system
  will send an ‘alert message’ to the individual, civil affairs departments, health departments,

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved.date: 25 June
2022
You can also read