Luo Ying-shay

Luo Ying-shay
羅瑩雪
Minister of Justice of the Republic of China
In office 30 September 2013 – 20 May 2016
President	Ma Ying-jeou
Deputy	Chen Ming-tang Wu Chen-huan
Preceded by	Tseng Yung-fu Chen Ming-tang (acting)
Succeeded by	Chiu Tai-san
Governor of Fujian Province
In office 1 August 2013 – 29 September 2013
Preceded by	Chen Shyh-kwei
Succeeded by	Schive Chi
Minister of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission of the Executive Yuan
In office 9 February 2011 – 29 September 2013
Preceded by	Kao Su-po
Succeeded by	Chen Ming-jen (acting) Jaclyn Tsai[1]
Minister without Portfolio
In office 9 February 2011 – 29 September 2013
Personal details
Born	8 November 1951 (1951-11-08) (age 65) Taiwan[2]
Nationality	Republic of China
Political party	Kuomintang
Alma mater	National Taiwan University University at Albany

Luo Ying-shay (Chinese: 羅瑩雪; pinyin: Luó Yíngxuě) is a Taiwanese politician who served as the Minister of Justice since 30 September 2013 until 20 May 2016.^[3]

Early life

Luo graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Department of Law of the National Taiwan University. She continued her master's degree in criminal justice from the University at Albany in the United States.

Early career

Luo had been a lecturer at the Central Police University in Taoyuan since 1977.^[4]

ROC Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission Ministry

Salute to Genghis Khan

In April 2012, Luo, on behalf of President Ma Ying-jeou, officiated a traditional ceremony to salute Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire with some 200 Mongolians living in Taiwan. Luo said that Khan was a man with great talent and bold vision who broke ground and expanded frontiers. Luo and other dignitaries then offered flowers, incense and silk.^[5]

Merger of MTAC into MAC

In early April 2013, the plan to merge the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) with the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) became an area of concern. Responding to the confusion, Luo said that the merger was not ideal, as approaching relations to Mongolia through the MAC might have caused the Mongolian government to believe that Taiwan's position was that Mongolia was a part of the People's Republic of China. Luo further clarified that direct Mongolia–Taiwan relations were diplomatic, while ethnic Mongolians and Tibetans in China and Taiwan were covered under Cross–Strait and domestic policies, respectively.^[6]

MTAC student exchange program

In early April 2013, Luo was questioned by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Chen Chi-mai regarding the effectiveness of the MTAC-sponsored student exchange program from Taiwan to Inner Mongolia because most reports made of the trip by the Taiwanese students mentioned the ample drinking opportunities presented to them during the program. The DPP lawmaker even slammed Luo when he found out that one of the student report said that "people from both side of the Taiwan Strait belong to one family".

Luo defended the program by stating that the drinking was only one of many other activities conducted during the student exchange program, which also included visits to historical and cultural sites. She also said that the students may have emphasized drinking because it was a novel experience they did not have in Taiwan.^[7]

ROC Justice Ministry

Ministry appointment

The Executive Yuan announced Luo's appointment to become the Minister of Justice on 23 September 2013. She is the third woman to hold the post.^[3]

Taiwan inmates death sentence

On 29 April 2014, five convicts were executed after Luo gave the order to carry out the death sentences the day before, the first order since Luo took office as Minister of Justice in September 2013. Executions were done in prisons in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Hualien. The five executed inmates were Teng Kuo-liang (鄧國樑), Tu Ming-hsiung (杜明雄), Tu Ming-lang (杜明郎), Liu Yang-kuo (劉炎國) and Tai Wen-ching (戴文慶). They all had committed serious crimes including murders, sexual assaults and robberies. All of the five verdicts had received their final verdicts from the Supreme Court.^[8]

Visit to Mainland China

On 28 March 2016, Luo departed to Mainland China for a 5-day visit at the invitation of Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China becoming the first Minister of the Government of the Republic of China to visit the mainland in her official capacity after the end of Chinese Civil War in 1949.^[9]

References