Yesterday, as Indonesia increased security ahead of the execution of the three Islamic militants convicted in the 2002 Bali bombings, a seminar in Taipei brought French and Taiwanese legal specialists together to discuss how Taiwan can continue its path toward abolishing capital punishment.
The carnage wrought by the terrorists behind the bombings, in which 202 people were killed, was an unspeakable crime.
It may seem difficult in this context to argue for the abolition of the death penalty, but the message at yesterday’s forum was clear: The death penalty is a violation of human rights, illegal in all cases under international law.
TAIPEI, Taiwan –– The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) and three European offices in Taiwan will organize a series of activities in early November to encourage the abolition of the death penalty and help advance the debate on the issue in Taiwan, the alliance said Friday.
One of the centerpiece events will be a seminar Nov. 6-7 called “New Perspectives on Abolishing the Death Penalty, “ organized by the TAEDP and the German Institute in Taipei.
German scholars will discuss the issue from different perspectives, such as the relationship between the abolition of the death penalty and social safety, victim protection and prison reform.
NEW PERSPECTIVES: Saying that the Criminal Code calls for re-educating and reforming prisoners, not killing them, the alliance seeks an end to the death penalty in Taiwan
STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty and three European offices in Taiwan will organize a series of activities early next month to encourage the abolition of the death penalty and help advance the debate on the issue.
One of the centerpiece events will be a seminar on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7 called “New Perspectives on Abolishing the Death Penalty,” organized by the alliance and the German Institute in Taipei, the alliance said on Friday.
German academics will discuss the issue from a variety of perspectives such as the relationship between the abolition of the death penalty and social safety, victim protection and prison reform.
The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) held a concert on the Double Ten holiday yesterday to mark the World Day Against the Death Penalty, intended to raise public support for its campaign against capital punishment.
Individual singers and rock bands began performances at around 3:30pm in a small performance hall in Kaohsiung City.
Behind the bands, a message read: The death penalty must be abolished in Taiwan.
“Abolishing the death penalty is actually a global trend,” TAEDP executive director Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡) told the Taipei Times in a phone interview.
During the General Assembly meeting last year, the UN decided to take a more active role in ending executions by adopting a “moratorium on the use of the death penalty.”
