On Tuesday next week, the Judicial Yuan is to decide whether it would issue a constitutional interpretation for the Act Governing the Settlement of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例), following a complaint by the Control Yuan.

Ever since the promulgation of the act, people from the party-state elite and vested interests have said it is unconstitutional, ignoring that the legislation follows Germany’s transitional justice laws.

The Transitional Justice Commission is off to a good start as initial efforts by its members seem to meet public expectations for transitional justice.

The commission is tasked with opening political archives to the public, removing authoritarian symbols, redressing miscarriages of justice and exonerating victims, establishing historical truth, investigating political persecution and promoting social reconciliation, among other duties.

Will Taiwan and the US restore diplomatic ties? Such talk has been unthinkable during the 40 years since the two nations broke off relations in 1979.

It is perhaps not surprising that US Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a steadfast, hawkish pro-Taiwan and anti-China politician, proposed that diplomatic relations with Taiwan be resumed. This is not the first proposal of its kind, but given the situation, perhaps this kind of discussion is once again possible.