EN Version

2008-05-28 Taipei Times

Public opinion is a factor selectively ignored or drawn upon by policymakers presenting their case, and the death penalty is no exception. In eight years in office, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) failed to carry out one of its professed goals: to abolish capital punishment. As it left office with the death penalty intact, the administration said its hands were tied because a majority of the public believed the death penalty to be an effective deterrent to violent crime.

The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) looks set to follow suit. The public can expect the Cabinet to cite opinion polls when it suits the administration and to turn a deaf ear on issues that do not serve its interests. When it comes to the death penalty, however, the new administration is already echoing the DPP.

Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) lost no time after the inauguration in promising to consider abolishing the death penalty. In the same breath, however, she warned that she had no clue how to go about achieving this goal, as it would run counter to public opinion. Almost 80 percent of the public supports capital punishment, Wang said, a figure also cited by the DPP.

2008-03-09 Taipei Times

By Rich Chang
STAFF REPORTER

EFFECTIVE DETERRENT? :  The number of executions in Taiwan has dropped off in recent years but abolition of capital punishment still seems unlikely in the short term 

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) said it is seeking to amend the law so that a death sentence can only be handed down when all three judges in a case approve the sentence.

Current law stipulates that a death sentence can be handed down with a majority verdict, which means two of the three judges in a court can decide the ruling. Passage of the amendment would make death sentences more difficult to secure and thereby reduce the number of state executions.

烏茲別克斯坦廢除死刑，成為世界上第 135個廢除死或實際上不執行死刑的國家之一

2008-01-11

Amnesty International Press release

The trend towards total abolition of the death penalty has continued with Uzbekistan becoming the latest country to put an end to executions.

From 1 January 2008, it becomes the 135th country in the world to abolish the death penalty in law or practice. Capital punishment has now been replaced with life or long-term imprisonment. Amnesty International welcomes this move towards ending this cruel and inhumane practice.

There is concern that, prior to the abolition of the death penalty, relatives of executed prisoners were not informed about the dates and places of their execution and burial.

Forun–Asia

(Hong Kong, 10 July 2006) A new Asian network against the death penalty was formed after a group of anti-death penalty activists met in Hong Kong recently to discuss work against the death penalty. This network is called the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADEPAN) and will be officially launched on the World Day Against Death Penalty, 10 October, somewhere in Asia this year.

Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty

Mission Statement
The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty Taiwan (TAEDP) is a coalition of various local abolitionist non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and research institutes.Launched in September 2003 by the Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR), the Judicial Reform Foundation (JRF), Fujen University John Paul II Peace Institute, the Chang Fo-chuan Center for the Study of Human Rights, the Taipei Bar Association (TBA) and the Peacetime Foundation, the Alliance promotes the reform of Taiwan’s penal system and advocates the abolition of the death penalty.   The Alliance was formed to stress and promote the absolute value of life and human dignity as core to the protection and promotion of human rights. Profoundly understanding that society has yet to be exposed to the debate concerning death penalty abolition, and that the general public seems to support capital punishment as a form of revenge against perpetrators of major crimes, the alliance aims to create an open discussion forum for society on various abolition issues. Furthermore, it advocates shaping a better penal system that both respects the value of life while truly compensating the victims so as to really uphold justice and safeguard human rights for all.