Asia regional rights bastion Taiwan clings to capital punishment

Source: France 24 (4 January 2022)

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220104-asia-regional-rights-bastion-taiwan-clings-to-capital-punishment

Taipei (AFP) – Taiwan's claim to be a regional bastion of human rights is undermined by its retention of capital punishment, activists say as they campaign to exonerate the island's oldest death row prisoner.

Wang Xin-fu is among 38 inmates in Taiwan awaiting execution, which is carried out by gunshot and without advance notice once all appeals are exhausted.

At 69, Wang is Taiwan's most elderly prisoner on death row and has consistently maintained his innocence.

Rights groups led by the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) have launched a campaign to exonerate Wang, arguing he was wrongfully convicted as a joint offender for the murder of a policeman in 1990.

Wang had been detained in his youth and classified by Taiwan's then authoritarian government as a "thug".

He was sentenced to death for supplying a gun to a "lackey" and ordering him to shoot the victim, based on testimonies from the shooter and witnesses.

But activists claim there are "obvious flaws" in the conviction, from inconsistent testimony, allegations of police torture against a witness, a lack of motive and no fingerprints.

"He is a so-called 'bad guy' but bad guys also have rights. He should not be sentenced for a crime that's not his doing," said Lin Hsin-yi, executive director of TAEDP.

Wang fled to mainland China after learning he was wanted and was only arrested in 2006 upon returning to Taiwan for treatment of an eye ailment.

He was convicted and the supreme court upheld his death sentence in a final ruling in 2011.
Last chance

In November activists appealed to the Control Yuan, Taiwan's top government watchdog, after the office of the top prosecutor rejected their request to file a "special appeal" for Wang -- one of the only ways to challenge a final conviction.

That tactic has previously worked.

In 2018, the Control Yuan recommended the prosecutor-general file a special appeal for death row prisoner Hsieh Chih-hung, who had been jailed for 19 years for murder. That eventually led to his acquittal.

Campaigners point to lengthy death penalty cases in which people were eventually exonerated as evidence of flaws with capital punishment Sam Yeh AFP

Now a free man, Hsieh campaigns for abolishing the death penalty, saying his and other exonerations show the capital punishment system is fallible.

Campaigners point to one of Taiwan's most disputed and lengthy cases, when a court in 2012 quashed the convictions of three men sentenced to death over the murder of a couple two decades ago, after they had undergone a string of trials and retrials.

Another high-profile case came the year before when a military court declared that an air force private executed 14 years previously for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl was innocent.

"The government thinks carrying out executions is the will of the people but does that really solve the problems?" Hsieh told AFP.

Another death row prisoner that activists campaign for is Chiou Ho-shun, who has been incarcerated for more than three decades.
Popular support

Capital punishment remains popular in Taiwan.

Despite its frequent use against dissidents during decades of martial law, most polls show Taiwanese still support the death penalty even as the island has become one of the most progressive democracies in Asia.

Some 35 prisoners have been put to death since 2010 when Taiwan resumed executions after a four-year hiatus, including two since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016.

Activists have criticised Tsai's government -- which has embraced progressive issues such as gay marriage -- for continuing with the executions.

Tsai has called abolishing capital punishment "a difficult issue to deal with" due to the lack of support from the public that would require "a long process, a long time" to change.

The justice ministry said it restarted a taskforce in 2017 aimed at facilitating gradual abolition and has been studying alternatives while trying to build a public consensus.

"Abolishing the death penalty is an international trend in recent years and it's the long-term direction our country has been working on," the ministry said in a statement to AFP.

Opponents want a moratorium on executions and a timeline for complete abolition.

"If people know there are alternatives they won't necessarily support the death penalty, especially if they are aware of wrongful convictions," activist Lin said.

One alternative is lifetime incarceration on condition that the convict work in prison with part of their wages going to the victims' families as compensation, she added.

All Wang's family can do is wait.

His sister Wen Mei-hui, 60, said she is hopeful her brother will be reunited with her as a free man.

"I am convinced he's innocent," she told AFP. "I hope the authorities will let my brother go home."

OPINION: Recent Death Penalty Execution Undermines Taiwan's International Reputation

Source: The News Lens (13 April 2020)

https://international.thenewslens.com/article/133720

At the center of Taiwan’s efforts to ameliorate its diplomatic isolation has been an effort to promote itself as one of Asia’s most progressive democracies, especially during President Tsai Ing-wen’s term. Following the legalization of same-sex marriage, the "Taiwan Can Help" and "Taiwan is Helping" campaigns of sending medical aid abroad have been the latest successes in winning international plaudits.

A recent execution and an ambiguous stance on death penalty abolition threaten to derail these efforts.

Weng Jen-hsien (翁仁賢) was executed by order of the Ministry of Justice on April 1. It had been a year and seven months since the last execution in Taiwan. Weng was convicted last year of setting a fire that killed his parents and four relatives during the Lunar New Year’s Eve holiday in 2016.

Taiwan's anti-death penalty community immediately expressed righteous indignation at the execution. The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) announced in a press release on April 3 its decision to quit the Gradual Death Penalty Abolition Research and Promotion Team of the Ministry of Justice, citing their abrogation of the rule of law.

The TAEDP said the Ministry of Justice paradoxically continues to carry out capital punishment based on a law that it regards as flawed. "This is not implementing the rule of law. This is disregarding the rule of law and is an illegal execution," the TAEDP wrote.

Minister of Justice Tsai Ching Hsiang (蔡清祥) responded that he only did what he had to do. He said he would continue promoting death penalty abolition, but would implement the death penalty judiciously while it is still legal.

When Premier Su Tseng Chang (蘇貞昌) said, "Confirmed death sentences should be carried out," during a legislative inquiry on October 25 last year, the TAEDP criticized his remark relentlessly. At that time, Premier Su cited Weng as an example of a criminal whose act was “heinous from heaven to earth.”

The execution has also aroused disapproval internationally. The European External Action Service (EEAS), the official diplomatic arm of the European Union, released a statement on April 3 condemning Weng’s crime and sympathizing with the families of the victims, while clarifying that the EU opposes the use of capital punishment under any circumstance.

"The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent to crime and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity," the EEAS statement read. It thereupon called on Taiwan to "refrain from any future executions" and to "pursue a consistent policy towards the abolition of the death penalty."

Taiwan is not the only country in which capital punishment is carried out. Many East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and China are still executing prisoners and have received criticism from international human rights organizations.

However, it seems more morally inconsistent for Taiwan to keep the death penalty on the books. Taiwan has sought to brand itself as one of Asia’s most progressive democracies.

Weng was the second inmate executed under the Tsai administration. The first execution was carried out in August 2018 when a 41-year-old man was put to death for killing his ex-wife and five-year-old daughter. There are currently 39 prisoners on death row.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Taiwan's strong response to the crisis has helped raise its international profile, with media reports saluting its response appearing by the dozen. It has also successfully scored a public relations victory by donating over 10 million face masks to countries in need.

It seems that Taiwan has mitigated its international isolation with its "Taiwan Can Help" and "Taiwan is Helping" campaign. But while expressions of gratitude abound for Taiwan, the recent execution and ambiguous stance on gradual death penalty abolition may quickly reverse any diplomatic gains.

Rights groups lament latest Taiwan execution

Source: Channel News Asia (3 April 2020)

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/rights-groups-lament-latest-taiwan-execution-12606560

TAIPEI: Rights activists on Friday (Apr 3) condemned Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's government for executing a convicted murderer, saying the continued use of capital punishment undermined the island's progressive reputation.

Death row inmate Weng Jen-hsien, found guilty last year of setting a fire that killed his parents and four relatives in 2016, was executed by a firing squad on Wednesday, the justice ministry said.

Weng, 53, was the second man to be executed since Tsai came to power in 2016 despite a pledge to eventually abolish the death penalty.

The ministry described Weng's crime as "brutal and ruthless".

But it added: "Our policy is to gradually abolish the death penalty."

International and local rights groups urged Taiwan to immediately announce a moratorium on executions and set a timeline for complete abolition.
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"The government said its policy is to gradually abolish the death penalty but it took opposite action to carry out its second execution," Taiwan Association for Human Rights secretary general Shih Yi-Hsiang said.

"This is certainly a regression in human rights. Carrying out executions will not solve any problem," he told AFP.

Chiu E-Ling, director of Amnesty International Taiwan, accused the government of making a "cynical attempt to bury bad news" by carrying out the execution on the same day it announced the donation of 10 million face masks to countries hit hardest by the coronavirus.

The justice ministry statement announcing the execution was released late at night on Wednesday.

DICTATORSHIP TO DEMOCRACY

Over the last few decades Taiwan has morphed from a dictatorship to one of Asia's most progressive democracies.

Some rights groups and media organisations have even set up regional headquarters in Taiwan, primarily as a base to monitor more authoritarian China.

Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party successfully legalised same-sex marriage last year, making Taiwan the first place in Asia to do so.

But the death penalty remains on the books, with most surveys showing it is popular among the public.

Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a five-year hiatus. There are currently 39 prisoners on death row.

The first execution under the Tsai administration was in August 2018 when a 41-year-old man was put to death for killing his ex-wife and five-year-old daughter.

In 2016 a former college student was executed for killing four people in a random stabbing spree on a subway that shocked the generally safe island.

Tsai won a landslide second term in January and will be inaugurated in May.

Taiwan passes laws to make Chinese spying punishable by death

Source: ABS-CBN News (9 May 2019)

https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/05/09/19/taiwan-passes-laws-to-make-chinese-spying-punishable-by-death

TAIPEI - Chinese spies will be subject to Taiwan's newly amended law under which they could face the death penalty, local media reported on Wednesday.

The legislature passed revisions to the penal code on Tuesday to stipulate that spies from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao committing acts of espionage could be punished by life imprisonment or even death.

Until now, Chinese spies have only been given light sentences.

Those include Zhen Xiaojiang, a retired People's Liberation Army captain who was found guilty in September 2015 of setting up a spy ring in Taiwan, but received only a four-year prison sentence for violating the National Security Act.

The legislature also approved amendments to the Classified National Security Information Protection Act on Tuesday to increase the penalty of Taiwanese citizens leaking or handing classified national security information to people from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since Nationalist forces led by Chiang Kai-shek lost a civil war on the mainland to Communist forces under Mao Zedong in 1949. Beijing considers Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

==Kyodo

Taiwanese man executed for killing ex-wife and daughter in island’s first capital punishment for two years

Source: South China Morning Post (1 September 2018)

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/2162318/taiwan-carries-out-first-execution-two-years

Taiwan executed a death-row inmate on Friday, the first execution carried out under President Tsai Ing-wen’s government, despite ongoing calls from rights groups to abolish the death penalty.

Lee Hung-chi was executed at a jail in southern Kaohsiung city by firing squad, according to the justice ministry, for killing his ex-wife and five-year-old daughter in 2014.

Lee stabbed his former spouse to death outside the kindergarten their two daughters attended and then took one of the girls to his car, where he tried to kill both her and himself by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Lee survived after they were rescued but the girl died two months later despite treatment.

“His actions were brutal and ruthless … and inflicted irreparable harms to the victims’ families,” deputy justice minister Chen Ming-tang told reporters.

The court had ruled there was no likelihood of Lee reforming, he added.

Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a five-year hiatus, with the death penalty reserved for the most serious crimes such as aggravated murder and kidnapping.

Some politicians and rights groups have called for its abolition, but various surveys show most people support the death penalty.

Chen said the government was gradually decreasing its use, but would not abolish it for now.

“Abolishing [the] death sentence is an international trend and a long-term goal for the justice ministry … but there is no consensus in our country,” Chen said.

There are currently 42 prisoners on death row in Taiwan.

Lee’s execution was the first since a former college student was put to death in May 2016 for killing four people in a random stabbing spree on a subway that shocked the generally peaceful island.

In 2012 the murder of a young boy in a playground reignited debate over the death penalty, after the suspect reportedly said he was anticipating free board and lodging in jail and would get a life sentence at most even if he were to kill two or three people.

Taiwan murder convict walks free after decade on death row

Source: Straits Times (26 October 2017)

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/taiwan-convict-walks-free-after-decade-on-death-row

TAIPEI (AFP) - A Taiwanese man who spent more than a decade on death row walked free Thursday (Oct 26) after being acquitted of murder in a retrial, boosting calls for the abolition of capital punishment.

Cheng Hsing-tse was condemned to death in 2002 after being found guilty of shooting a police officer during a gun battle in a karaoke parlour.

The death penalty was confirmed in 2006, when he had exhausted the appeal process.

But he was granted a retrial last year and released on bail when new evidence cast doubt on his conviction, suggesting he may have been tortured into admitting the crime.

The high court in central Taichung delivered its decision Thursday, overturning the original guilty verdict, saying Cheng's confession may have been forced and that evidence pointed to another culprit firing the fatal shots.

"I've waited for this acquittal for 15 years," Cheng told reporters on Thursday outside the court after the verdict.

Cheng was a follower of gangster Luo Wu-hsiung and was caught up in the gun battle after Luo fired a pistol at the ceiling and at bottles in a karaoke room in protest at the parlour's service.

Police stormed the venue and shots were fired by both sides, killing Luo and an officer named Su Hsien-pi.

Earlier verdicts found that Cheng fired the bullets that killed Su.

But judges on Thursday said after considering evidence of the firing positions, it could not be ruled out that Luo was the killer.

The high court said in a statement that Cheng's face had shown "obvious new bruising" during interrogations, "suggesting his confession wasn't voluntary".

The Control Yuan - the government's highest watchdog - recommended the supreme court prosecutor's office to apply for a retrial after investigating Cheng's case in 2014.

It said police forced a confession from Cheng "by means of torture" and certain autopsy findings were ignored.

Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a five-year hiatus. Executions are reserved for serious crimes including aggravated murder.

The last execution was in May last year of Cheng Chieh, a former college student who killed four people in a stabbing spree on a subway in 2014.

There are currently 43 convicts on death row in Taiwan, according to campaign group Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty.

Rights groups including Amnesty International have urged Taiwan's government to abandon the practice, but polls show a majority of the public still support it.

Court acquits man after controversial death penalty case

Source: Asia One (2 September 2015)

http://news.asiaone.com/news/crime/court-acquits-man-after-controversial-death-penalty-case

TAIPEI, Taiwan - A defendant in a controversial death penalty case was declared innocent after his ninth appeal yesterday, exactly 20 years after his alleged crime.

Hsu Tzu-chiang is one of three men sentenced to death in 2000 for the murder of a real estate businessman on Sept. 1, 1995.

Activists and Hsu's lawyers criticised the ruling on grounds that the sentence had been based on the confessions of his co-defendants.

The Taiwan High Court yesterday overturned Hsu's seven death sentences and two life sentences, declaring him not guilty.

The case had already gone through eight appeals on repeated retrials.

Hsu, in disbelief, turned to a nearby friend after the announcement and asked, "Is it not guilty?" Upon confirming the verdict, the defendant embraced his tearful mother.

"I have waited for 20 years," he said to a crowd of supporters waiting outside the high court. The sentence can still be appealed.

Hsu and two other men were sentenced to death for the alleged murder of real-estate businessman Huang Chun-shu in 1995.

The victim was kidnapped outside his home; after his murder, his disfigured body was abandoned in New Taipei City, and then Taipei County.

During the trial, defendants Huang Chun-chi and Chen Yi-lung were sentenced based on forensic evidence, while Hsu was convicted based on their testimony.

A fourth defendant had escaped to Thailand, where he died.

Activists have criticised Hsu's sentence and said that there was security footage proving he was elsewhere during the events.

The Judicial Reform Foundation has called the case deeply flawed, saying it demonstrates the need to implement a jury system in Taiwan to reduce judicial bias.

After the initial sentencing, one of the two defendants said he had accused Hsu as a way of getting revenge and that Hsu was innocent.

In 2001, Taiwan's Control Yuan released a report on Hsu's conviction that condemned the sentencing.

Hsu's case is one of the longest-running murder cases in Taiwan's history, and his acquittal falls exactly 20 years after the alleged murder. Huang Chun-chi and Chen Yi-lung remain on death row.

Taiwan executes 6 death-row inmates

Source: AsiaOne Asia (6 June 2015)

http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/taiwan-executes-6-death-row-inmates

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) carried out six executions Friday evening in response to public outcry after the murder of an 8-year-old schoolgirl in Taipei one week ago. The inmates included Tsao Tien-shou, Wang Hsiu-fang, Cheng Chin-wen, Huang Chu-wang, Wang Chun-chin, and Wang Yu-long. A last-minute stay of execution motion filed by Huang was denied.
Yesterday's executions were carried out in locations in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The situation was similar to the ministry's reaction when a man slit the throat of a young boy in 2012. The MOJ responded to the public uproar within three weeks, carrying out six executions.
The number of executions in Taiwan has risen sharply after Justice Minister Luo Ying-shay assumed her post in 2013. In 2014, she approved five executions. Following yesterday's executions, 42 inmates remain on death row in prisons throughout Taiwan.
From 2006 to 2010, a 52-month moratorium on capital punishment existed as successive heads of the MOJ publicly supported the end of the death penalty in Taiwan.
Wang Ching-feng, the first justice minister appointed by President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008 and an advocate of ending the death penalty was forced to resign after social protests orchestrated by entertainer Pai Ping-ping, whose daughter was murdered in 1997, stirred public resentment.
Wang was forced to resign in 2010, with her successor continuing capital punishment one month into his term.
Ma Trying to Divert Public Attention: Anti-death Penalty Group
After the executions, Kuomintang Legislator Tsai Chin-lung remarked that "justice has been served." Civil organisations against the death penalty rebuked the government for its actions, with one organisation calling it "evil."
The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty published a statement Wednesday accusing the Ma administration of using the death penalty to divert attention from other issues.
The organisation accused Ma of "using the fresh blood of the executed as a sacrificial offering for popular support." For instance, it cited April 19, 2013 as an example, as six executions were carried out on the same day.
It was also the same day that former President Chen Shui-bian was transferred to Taichung Prison's Pei-de Hospital and the Legislative Yuan was deliberating whether a referendum should be held regarding the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
Capital punishment is widely supported by Taiwan's public, with opinion polls usually showing around 80-per cent support for the retention of the death penalty. In Asia, Taiwan joins China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam among others in retaining the death penalty.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/taiwan-executes-6-death-row-inmates#sthash.bYmG5LVk.dpuf

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) carried out six executions Friday evening in response to public outcry after the murder of an 8-year-old schoolgirl in Taipei one week ago. The inmates included Tsao Tien-shou, Wang Hsiu-fang, Cheng Chin-wen, Huang Chu-wang, Wang Chun-chin, and Wang Yu-long. A last-minute stay of execution motion filed by Huang was denied.

Yesterday's executions were carried out in locations in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The situation was similar to the ministry's reaction when a man slit the throat of a young boy in 2012. The MOJ responded to the public uproar within three weeks, carrying out six executions.

The number of executions in Taiwan has risen sharply after Justice Minister Luo Ying-shay assumed her post in 2013. In 2014, she approved five executions. Following yesterday's executions, 42 inmates remain on death row in prisons throughout Taiwan.

From 2006 to 2010, a 52-month moratorium on capital punishment existed as successive heads of the MOJ publicly supported the end of the death penalty in Taiwan. 

Wang Ching-feng, the first justice minister appointed by President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008 and an advocate of ending the death penalty was forced to resign after social protests orchestrated by entertainer Pai Ping-ping, whose daughter was murdered in 1997, stirred public resentment. 

Wang was forced to resign in 2010, with her successor continuing capital punishment one month into his term.

Ma Trying to Divert Public Attention: Anti-death Penalty Group 

After the executions, Kuomintang Legislator Tsai Chin-lung remarked that "justice has been served." Civil organisations against the death penalty rebuked the government for its actions, with one organisation calling it "evil."

The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty published a statement Wednesday accusing the Ma administration of using the death penalty to divert attention from other issues. 

The organisation accused Ma of "using the fresh blood of the executed as a sacrificial offering for popular support." For instance, it cited April 19, 2013 as an example, as six executions were carried out on the same day. 

It was also the same day that former President Chen Shui-bian was transferred to Taichung Prison's Pei-de Hospital and the Legislative Yuan was deliberating whether a referendum should be held regarding the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. 

Capital punishment is widely supported by Taiwan's public, with opinion polls usually showing around 80-per cent support for the retention of the death penalty. In Asia, Taiwan joins China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam among others in retaining the death penalty.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) carried out six executions Friday evening in response to public outcry after the murder of an 8-year-old schoolgirl in Taipei one week ago. The inmates included Tsao Tien-shou, Wang Hsiu-fang, Cheng Chin-wen, Huang Chu-wang, Wang Chun-chin, and Wang Yu-long. A last-minute stay of execution motion filed by Huang was denied.
Yesterday's executions were carried out in locations in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The situation was similar to the ministry's reaction when a man slit the throat of a young boy in 2012. The MOJ responded to the public uproar within three weeks, carrying out six executions.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/taiwan-executes-6-death-row-inmates#sthash.bYmG5LVk.dpuf

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) carried out six executions Friday evening in response to public outcry after the murder of an 8-year-old schoolgirl in Taipei one week ago. The inmates included Tsao Tien-shou, Wang Hsiu-fang, Cheng Chin-wen, Huang Chu-wang, Wang Chun-chin, and Wang Yu-long. A last-minute stay of execution motion filed by Huang was denied.
Yesterday's executions were carried out in locations in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The situation was similar to the ministry's reaction when a man slit the throat of a young boy in 2012. The MOJ responded to the public uproar within three weeks, carrying out six executions.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/taiwan-executes-6-death-row-inmates#sthash.bYmG5LVk.dpuf

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) carried out six executions Friday evening in response to public outcry after the murder of an 8-year-old schoolgirl in Taipei one week ago. The inmates included Tsao Tien-shou, Wang Hsiu-fang, Cheng Chin-wen, Huang Chu-wang, Wang Chun-chin, and Wang Yu-long. A last-minute stay of execution motion filed by Huang was denied.
Yesterday's executions were carried out in locations in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The situation was similar to the ministry's reaction when a man slit the throat of a young boy in 2012. The MOJ responded to the public uproar within three weeks, carrying out six executions.
The number of executions in Taiwan has risen sharply after Justice Minister Luo Ying-shay assumed her post in 2013. In 2014, she approved five executions. Following yesterday's executions, 42 inmates remain on death row in prisons throughout Taiwan.
From 2006 to 2010, a 52-month moratorium on capital punishment existed as successive heads of the MOJ publicly supported the end of the death penalty in Taiwan.
Wang Ching-feng, the first justice minister appointed by President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008 and an advocate of ending the death penalty was forced to resign after social protests orchestrated by entertainer Pai Ping-ping, whose daughter was murdered in 1997, stirred public resentment.
Wang was forced to resign in 2010, with her successor continuing capital punishment one month into his term.
Ma Trying to Divert Public Attention: Anti-death Penalty Group
After the executions, Kuomintang Legislator Tsai Chin-lung remarked that "justice has been served." Civil organisations against the death penalty rebuked the government for its actions, with one organisation calling it "evil."
The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty published a statement Wednesday accusing the Ma administration of using the death penalty to divert attention from other issues.
The organisation accused Ma of "using the fresh blood of the executed as a sacrificial offering for popular support." For instance, it cited April 19, 2013 as an example, as six executions were carried out on the same day.
It was also the same day that former President Chen Shui-bian was transferred to Taichung Prison's Pei-de Hospital and the Legislative Yuan was deliberating whether a referendum should be held regarding the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
Capital punishment is widely supported by Taiwan's public, with opinion polls usually showing around 80-per cent support for the retention of the death penalty. In Asia, Taiwan joins China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam among others in retaining the death penalty.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/taiwan-executes-6-death-row-inmates#sthash.bYmG5LVk.dpuf

Taiwan: Six more executions signal cruel about-turn on death penalty

Source: Amnesty International (19 April 2013)

https://www.amnesty.org/en/articles/news/2013/04/taiwan-six-more-executions-signal-cruel-about-turn-death-penalty/

Taiwanese authorities executed six men on Friday night in what Amnesty International said was a cruel change of heart from their earlier stated commitment to abolish the brutal practice. Those put to death were: Chen Tung-Jung, Chen Jui-Chin, Lin Chin-Te, Chang Pao-Hui, Li Chia Hsuan, and Chi Chun-I. These latest executions come only a few months after Taiwan put to death six other inmates in December 2012, the only executions carried out in the country last year.  “A dozen executions in Taiwan in less than six months raises serious questions about the authorities’ pledges to abolish the death penalty,” said Catherine Baber, Asia-Pacific Programme Director at Amnesty International.  “President Ma Ying-jeou should impose an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty to engage in a national debate about abolishing its use in the future.”

In February, Manfred Nowak, a former UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and Eibe Riedel, a member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, visited Taiwan after calling for such a moratorium. Novak and Riedel were part of an Independent Experts panel invited by the government to consider its report on implementation of UN human rights covenants. In their report issued in Taipei on 1 March 2013, the Independent Experts strongly recommended that the government of Taiwan intensify its efforts towards abolition of capital punishment and – as a first and decisive step – to introduce an immediate moratorium on executions. They urged the government, pending abolition, to observe all relevant procedural and substantive safeguards relating to the use of capital punishment and in particular to commute the death sentence in all cases where such punishment was imposed on the basis of a confession extracted through torture.

The Taiwanese government has replied to the observations saying that it would be "difficult" for Taiwan to abolish the death penalty at this stage and they have set up a special committee to examine the different possibilities for gradual abolition of the death penalty.Amnesty International’s annual Death Sentences and Executions report, published earlier this month, lists Taiwan as one of only eight countries or territories in the Asia-Pacific region that carried out executions in 2012. Its six executions last year made it the fifth-largest executioner in the region. There are currently 50 people awaiting execution in Taiwan after exhausting all appeals.Family members are typically not informed about scheduled executions in advance. They only find out when they are invited to collect the body from the mortuary. In addition, serious fair trial concerns have marked the country’s use of the death penalty. In April 2012, Taiwan's High Court quashed the convictions of three men sentenced to death over the murder of a couple 21 years ago, as it found that the convictions were based on unreliable confessions. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.

EU regrets three Taiwan executions

EUROPEAN UNION
Brussels, 4 March 2011

Statement by the High Representative, Catherine Ashton, on the executions in Taiwan

Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, made today the following statement:

"I deeply regret today’s executions in Taiwan, the first after the resumption of executions in Taiwan last year. The European Union had been encouraged by the de facto moratorium on executions that had been in place from 2006 until last year. Taiwan is now once again one of the very few industrial democracies to implement capital punishment.

"The European Union's strongly held view in favor of the abolition of capital punishment is well known. The European Union considers that the abolition of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights. It is the European Union's view that the death penalty does not serve as an effective deterrent, and that any miscarriage of justice, which is inevitable in any legal system, would be irreversible.

"I therefore urge Taiwan not to undertake further executions, but instead to put in place an immediate de facto moratorium on executions, pending legal abolition."

____________________
P R E S S
FOR FURTHER DETAILS:
Michael Mann +32 498 999 780 - +32 2 299 97 80 - Michael.Mann@ec.europa.eu
Maja Kocijancic +32 498 984 425 - +32 2 298 65 70 - Maja.Kocijancic@ec.europa.eu
COMM-SPP-HRVP-ASHTON@ec.europa.eu
www.eeas.europa.eu

Taiwan executions condemned

ADPAN REGRETS YET MORE EXECUTIONS IN TAIWAN
4 March 2011
ASA 38/001/2010

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) says the latest executions of five men in Taiwan on 4 March 2011 calls into question the Taiwan government's stated intention to abolish the death penalty.

This brings the number of executions to nine since last year and goes against the global trend towards abolition.

The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP), who are members of ADPAN, pointed out today that, "carrying out any executions at this point in time would violate both domestic and international law." Taiwan has legally committed itself to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 2009, which includes the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence, and incorporated it into domestic law the same year.

The executions today of Wang Chih-huang, Wang Kuo-hua, Chuang Tien-chu, Kuan Chung-yen and Chong De-shu were carried out by shooting. None of the family members were informed before the executions took place.

The Anti Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) is a cross-regional network made up of over 50 members including lawyers, NGOs and human rights activists from 23 countries.

For more information:

- Lin Hsiny-Yi, Executive Director, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, (TAEDP)
+886-(0)930-019345
+886 (0)2 25218870 / FAX: +886 (0)2 25319373
BLOG: http://www.taedp.org.tw/ / E-MAIL: taedp.tw@gmail.com

- Louise Vischer, ADPAN Coordinator, louise.vischer@amnesty.org
+44 (0)207 413 5656

Taiwan justice minister willing to hang

New justice minister faces up to death penalty controversy

From: Focus Taiwan News Channel
22 March 2011

Taipei, March 22 (CNA) Taiwan's new justice minister Tseng Yung-fu, who entered office Monday under pressure to address a recent controversy over the death penalty, said enforcing capital punishment would not violate United Nations human rights conventions.

Former Justice Minister Wang Ching-feng was forced to resign on March 11, after her insistence on not signing off on the executions of 44 inmates currently on death row sparked outrage from victims' families and some legislators.

The furor died down while acting Minister Huang Shih-ming temporarily held the post, but public pressure remained to name a new justice minister who would be willing to see the executions through, even if the country has not carried out an execution of a death penalty inmate since late 2005.

Asked if carrying out the death penalty would not violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) , which Taiwan has signed into law, Tseng said the covenant only hopes that countries reduce the use of capital punishment.

That has happened in Taiwan, Tseng said, citing the reduction in the number of death sentences meted out and the elimination of laws in which the death penalty is the only punishment option.

"Carrying out a death penalty cannot be considered as violating the treaties," Tseng said.

He indicated that there was no deadline binding the minister of justice to sign the execution orders of the 44 death row inmates but said those who were sentenced to death for the most heinous of crimes would have their cases reviewed first.

Despite the controversy, a ministry task force on studying ways to abolish capital punishment will hold its first meeting Tuesday as scheduled, and the ministry will conduct a survey every six months to gauge public opinion on the issue.

At Monday's handover ceremony, acting Minister Huang praised Wang for her enthusiasm and lauded her as an official who stood up for principles.

"It was to everyone's regret that she left," Huang said.

Meanwhile, Tseng also pledged that he would promote a mechanism during his tenure that would make it possible to dismiss incompetent judicial personnel.

"He who laughs at crooked men better walk very straight, " he stressed.

Tseng, 67, a former deputy justice minister, has served as chief prosecutor in Taipei and Tainan cities and Taitung, Yunlin and Chiayi counties as well as the outlying island of Kinmen.

He has also served as the chief prosecutor with the Public Prosecutors Office for the Taiwan High Court and as the Ministry of Justice's chief secretary.

(By An Chi-hsien and Elizabeth Hsu)

Appeal: End death penalty in East Asia

The Centre for Prisoners' Rights and Amnesty International Japan continue to appeal for people to sign their petition and distribute it widely, calling for the abolition of the death penalty in East Asia.

Please print and sign the petition available here. The text of the petition is copied below.

Citizens’ Appeal for an Abolition of the Death Penalty in East Asia
December 2009

To:
People’s Republic of China, Japan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, State of Mongolia, Taiwan

(CC: Republic of Korea, Republic of the Philippines, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China)

In 2008, most of the executions in the world were carried out in Asia. 11 countries in Asia as a whole, and five countries in East Asia, namely, China, Japan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and Vietnam, continue to have the death penalty.

China alone accounts for about three quarters of the executions in the world and at least 1,718 death sentences were carried out.

In China, statistics on the death penalty and executions are a state secret, so the actual number is considered to be significantly higher than that.

In Vietnam, the death penalty is stipulated as the maximum sentence for a total of 29 offences defined in the criminal code, including illicit drug trafficking. Executions are by firing squad.

In Japan, there are currently more than 100 death-row inmates awaiting their executions. Executions by hanging in Japan are carried out secretively and the death-row inmates are notified of their execution only immediately before they take place.

In the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea, executions are either by firing squad or by hanging. Executions are conducted secretively but there is an indication that public executions are conducted for the purpose of making an example to the people.

In Mongolia, executions are a state secret and official statistics, such as the numbers of death sentences, executions, and death-row inmates, are not disclosed. Executions are conducted secretively. The family members of the death-row inmate are not notified of the execution beforehand. After the execution, the body is not returned to the family.

On the other hand, as of 2009, 139 states in the world have abolished the death penalty. In Asia as a whole, 27 states, such as the Philippines and Cambodia, have abolished the death penalty either de jure or de facto.

In the 20th century, many lives were taken in East Asia by the state or because of ideology. The death penalty has been used to impose the will of the state and as a tool of political repression. The state is still taking away the lives of the citizens by way of the death penalty. To put an end to this situation, East Asian states should renounce the state-sponsored violence known as the death penalty.

There are no empirical data verifying that the death penalty has a deterrent effect on heinous crimes. On the contrary, it is pointed out that the death penalty promotes violence.

In any country, those that are sentenced to death are skewed to vulnerable groups in the society, such as those in poverty and minorities. What gives rise to crimes in many cases is often poverty and social discrimination. Removing offenders from society by the death penalty does not solve the problem.

Having recognized the issues inherent in the death penalty system, we the signers below are petitioning for the realization of an East Asia without the death penalty.

We hereby request that:
* the taking of lives not be used as a means of punishment;
* the innocent not be killed;
* information be disclosed so that we can think for ourselves whether the death penalty is necessary;
* those that have erred not be cast away; and
* a society with few crimes be created without relying on the death penalty.

We the citizens hope for a truly peaceful society. We the citizens hope for a society without the death penalty. We the citizens hope for a tolerant society. Please heed our voices, the voices of the citizens.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty. Taking note of the significance of the 20th anniversary, we call on the East Asian states that retain capital punishment to abolish the death penalty system.

Signature:
Message:

The petition organized and collected by:

The "We Can Do Without the Death Penalty" Campaign
Joint Secretariat:
Center for Prisoners' Rights Japan and Amnesty International Japan
Kyodo Bldg. 4F, 2-2 Kandanishiki-cho, chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan 101-0054
E-mail: petition_adp@amnesty.or.jp
Fax +81-3-3518-6778
HP: http://www.abolish-dp.jca.apc.org/

The “We Can Do Without the Death Penalty” campaign was launched in 2008 in Japan, aiming to raise a voice and to think together about what is wrong with the death penalty, setting aside various differences. The Center for Prisoners’ Rights Japan and Amnesty International Japan serve as the joint secretariat and various other organizations, individuals, and networks participate in this campaign.

Victims call on Taiwan: End death penalty

Victims rights activists urge Taiwan government to reconsider death penalty
By Dennis Engbarth
Taiwan News, Staff Reporter
3 July, 2010

A group of murder victims from the United States and Japan are holding a series of lectures in Taipei and other cities this weekend to support calls by local activists for a cessation of capital punishment in Taiwan.

Under the theme of "Don't Kill in My Name," four members of the U.S. - based "Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights" arrived Friday for a four day visit during which they will hold four public lectures and meet with Kuomintang government officials, murder victim support groups and persons and organizations both supporting and opposing abolition of the death penalty.

Participants in the MVFHR Asia Speech Tour in Taiwan program include Robert Meeropol, the son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg who were executed in New York's Sing Sing prison in June 1953 on charges of atomic weapon - related espionage for the Soviet Union; Aba Gayle, whose daughter Catherine was murdered at 19 years of age; MVFHR Executive Director Renny Cushing, whose father was murdered and who became an advocate of victims rights; and Toshi Kazama, a photojournalist and victim of a violent crime who initiated the "Ocean" victims support group in Japan.

During a news conference held at the National Taiwan University Alumni Association Friday morning to announce the program for the "Victims, We Care!" speaking tour, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty Executie Director Lin Hsin-yi related that "many people in Taiwan tell advocates of abolition of the death penalty that victims of murders and other violent crimes support the death penalty and that advanced countries like the United States also still have the death penalty."

Lin stated that the MVFHR members "have come to South Korean, Japan and Taiwan "to share their views and experiences on why they as survivors or relatives of victims oppose the death penalty."

Cushing, who is one of the founders of the MVFHR which was formed on Dec. 10, 2004, said "we have all had members of our families murdered but we oppose the death penalty as a violation of the right to life and as a form of torture."

Given Taiwan's past history of "white terror" in which thousands were subject to state sanctioned killings, Cushing said that "we are particularly saddened to see the government of a democratic Taiwan going back to the policy of killing prisoners."

Referring to his experience and thoughts after seeing his father shot before his eyes, Cushing said that "if we let those who kill turn us into killers, then evil will triumph and we will all lose."

"As a survivor, I oppose the death penalty because I do not want to live in a world where governments kill people and I look forward to discussing in Taiwan why we should not kill people in the name of the victims," the MVFHR executive said.

Kazama, who planned the Asian speaking tour and who has photographed execution sites in the Taipei and Kaohsiung detention centers in 2005, stated that "we should hate crime and violence, but not hate yourself or hate those people."

"If you support the death penalty, you should realize that it means that you must have the guts to have a gun in your hand and shoot someone in the name of justice," said Kazama.

"Can you pull the trigger?" asked the Japanese photojournalist, a resident of New York City since 1980, who related that "I have met many executions who suffer emotionally because they have had to kill people like that."

Aba Gayle, a MVFHR member whose daughter Catherine was murdered in 1980 at the age of 19, stated that she learned after 12 years of "a dark time" that "I have a choice about how to live and I chose to stop being a victim."

Gayle related that "I got stuck in anger and rage" for eight years but said that she "realized that anger and rage is detrimental to our health and can destroy us."

"When I heard the letter drop in the mailbox, all the anger, rage and ugliness I had kept in my body for 12 years vanished and I was filled with inner peace and I knew at that moment that I did not need to have anyone executed for me to be healed," Gayle said.

In addition to lectures in Hsinchu City and Taichung City Saturday, the MVFHR group will hold a seminar and concert program Sunday afternoon at the Eslite Hsinyi Bookstore featuring the themes of "Victims of the State Machine?" and "Civic Movements to Protect Victims."

Before leaving Monday, the delegation will also hold private meetings with Justice Minister Huang and victims support groups, human rights organizations and personages and organizations both for and against the death penalty.

Taiwan: Activists' plea for abolition

Government must clarify death penalty policy: activists
Focus Taiwan News
2 June, 2010

Taipei, June 2 (CNA) Disappointed anti-death penalty activists said Wednesday that they will stop pursuing a constitutional interpretation on capital punishment after the Justices of Constitutional Court rejected a petition last week on halting the death penalty.

However, they urged President Ma Ying-jeou to live up to his pledge to end the practice in the future.

Accusing Ma of duplicity, the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) , along with over 50 supporters from the medical, environmental, religious and legal sectors, complained that while the president has vowed to abolish the death penalty, he continues to allow the Ministry of Justice to execute people.

In April, Taiwan ended a four-year de facto moratorium on capital punishment by executing four of its 44 death row inmates.

Justice Minister Tseng Yong-fu, who was appointed after his predecessor resigned for refusing to sign off on executions, has been vague on the eventual plight of the remaining 40, saying only that he will respect the decision of the Constitutional Court.

According to the court, the government's adherence to its death penalty policy does not go against the two U.N. covenants -- the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights -- signed by the president in late March.

Human rights lawyer Wellington Koo lamented the court's decision, saying the rejection means the group has exhausted all legal means of swaying the government and that "all we can do now is to plead with the government to hear us out."

According to the TAEDP, Taiwan is one of 18 countries, including the United States and China, that continue to enforce capital punishment.

"The president and the justice minister have publicly vowed to end the death penalty but yet they continue to sign off on death warrants. Their actions make us highly dubious of their true intentions, " said TAEDP Chairwoman Chiu Hei-yuan, urging Ma to clarify his stance.

Another of the activists, Catholic Archbishop John Hung, said that "it has been proven over and over again that the death penalty is not an antidote for reducing violence in society." (By Jenny W. Hsu) ENDITEM/J

Taiwan: Asian human rights criticism

TAIWAN: ADPAN Appeals for Taiwan to continue to Take a Lead
Statement by ADPAN

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) joins others around the world in regretting that the Presidential Office of Taiwan accepted the resignation of former Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng on 11 March amid political pressure against the moratorium of the death penalty. ADPAN urges the Taiwanese government to maintain the moratorium and to take a lead towards abolition among Asian countries.

In 2001, the Taiwanese Government announced a policy to gradually abolish the death penalty. The number of executions every year since then had been on the decline. In 2006, mandatory death sentences were eliminated, and no executions have been carried out since the same year. This is in keeping with the global trend toward abolition evident in UN General Assembly resolutions in 2007 and 2008 calling for a global moratorium on executions as a first step toward abolition.

On 14 March, President Ma Ying-jeou pointed out that the general public of Taiwan needs to engage in open discussion on the death penalty and that Taiwan cannot afford to ignore this international trend toward abolition.

ADPAN appeals to the Taiwanese government to do everything within its power to continue its efforts toward abolition, and that any future Minister of Justice shall take all necessary measures to lead Taiwan towards abolition, including ensuring the life of all 44 prisoners currently on death row.

More than two-thirds of the countries of the world have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. World opinion and practice is shifting inexorably towards abolition.

Representing a regional voice for abolition, ADPAN welcomes the steps taken thus far by the Taiwanese government towards abolition, but urges the Taiwan government to ensure that it does not fall behind other countries in the region that have abolished or are restricting the use of the death penalty: Mongolia’s president announced an official moratorium in January, South Korea has not executed anyone for over 12 years, the Philippines and the Cook Islands respectively abolished the death penalty in 2006 and 2007.

ADPAN is a cross-regional network made up of over 40 members including lawyers, NGOs and human rights activists from 22 countries mainly from Asia and the Pacific.

Taiwan: International condemnation for hangings

Taiwan carries out first executions in five years
Statement by Amnesty International, 4 May 2010

Amnesty International has condemned the execution of four prisoners by the Taiwanese authorities, the first since December 2005.

Chang Chun-hung, Hung Chen-yao, Ko Shih-ming and Chang Wen-wei were executed in prisons in Taipei, Tainan and Taichun on the evening of 30 April.

The executions come just two weeks after new Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu was reported as saying that his ultimate goal is the abolition of the death penalty.

"These executions cast a dark shadow on the country's human rights record, and blatantly contradict the Justice Minister's previously declared intention to abolish the death penalty," said Catherine Baber, deputy director of Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific programme.

The resignation of Wang Ching-feng as Minister of Justice last March sparked international attention over the issue of the death penalty in Taiwan. Wang Ching-feng had refused to sign execution orders because of her opposition to the death penalty.

"The world was looking to the Taiwanese authorities to choose human rights, and to show leadership on the path towards abolishing the death penalty in the Asia-Pacific. Today's executions extinguished that hope," said Catherine Baber.

The Taiwanese Alliance to End the Death Penalty has raised concerns over the legality of the executions.

The Taiwanese authorities stated today that they are still considering alternatives to the death penalty, but such commitments are of little value while executions continue.

139 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Amnesty International calls upon the Taiwanese authorities to immediately establish a moratorium on executions and take all the necessary steps to abolish the death penalty in the country.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases, as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

Amnesty International believes that the death penalty legitimizes an irreversible act of violence by the state.

Research demonstrates that the death penalty is often applied in a discriminatory manner, being used disproportionately against the poor, minorities and members of racial, ethnic and religious communities. The death penalty is often imposed after a grossly unfair trial.

But even when trials respect international standards of fairness, the risk of executing the innocent can never be fully eliminated – the death penalty will inevitably claim innocent victims, as has been persistently demonstrated.

Scientific studies have consistently failed to find convincing evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than other punishments.

Two resolutions, calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, were adopted at the United Nations General Assembly in December 2007 and 2008 by an overwhelming majority of states.

Taiwan: Human rights protest over executions

Protest Against The Ministry of Justice’s Illegal Executions
Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) Press Release May, 1st, 2010

Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP), Judicial Reform Foundation (JRF), Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR), Amnesty International Taiwan (AI Taiwan), Taiwan Labor Front, Human Rights Committee of the Taipei Bar Association, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Taiwan, Taiwan Green Party and Humanistic Education Foundation together handed a letter of protest to the Ministry of Justice on May, 1st to remonstrate with the Minister of Justice, Tseng Yung- Fu, about the cursory order to execute four death row prisoners. Amnesty International (AI) published a news release to denounce the Taiwanese government for resuming executions and stated that this move has seriously damaged Taiwan’s human rights record.

The Minster of Justice, Tseng Yung-Fu, signed the orders for the executions, killing the four death row inmates, Chang Chun-Hong, Chang Wen-Wei, Hong Chen Yeow, and Ke Shi-Ming, in the space of just over an hour on April 30th. Their families weren’t informed and they were not able to meet the four men for the last time before they died.

We are shocked and enraged at these so-called "executions according to law". Below are our responses to the reasons for the executions given by the Ministry of Justice:

Illegal Execution of Chang Chun-Hong
On behalf of the 44 death row inmates, TAEDP asked 7 lawyers to demand a constitutional interpretation from the Grand Justices of the Judicial Yuan. But due to time constraints, legal letters of authorization were not obtained in time from Chang Chun-Hong, Chang Wen-Wei, Hong Chen Yeow, and Ke Shi-Ming. Nevertheless, concerning the procedural items, the Department of Clerks for the Justices of the Constitutional Court sent letters to the 7 lawyers to asking them to provide these document within ten days (up to May 3rd, 2010). Besides, at the same time, it also tried to reach the four death row inmates in different prisons to learn their wills regarding the constitutional interpretation.

TAEDP contacted the four death row inmates after receiving the letter. Chang Chun-Hong then sent the letter of authorization with his signature on April 26th. He showed his willingness to appoint TAEDP’s lawyers to demand a constitutional interpretation. Therefore, Chang’s demand was without question totally legal.

In accordance with the Ministry of Justice’s "Implementation Guidelines of The Review of Death Penalty Cases," the first rule of the first item of the second article states that, for cases pending constitutional interpretation, the highest court cannot send the orders of executions to the Minister of Justice. It is a shame that the Minister, however, ignored the demand, signing the orders for the executions illegally and said that they acted in accordance with the law.

Unknown Will of Ke
While Chang Wen-Wei and Hong Chen Yeow directly refused to approve the demand for constitutional interpretations, the fourth death row inmates Ke Shi-Ming didn’t actually reply. TAEDP sent representatives to the Tainan prison to meet Ke in person, but the staff replied that Ke was banned from meeting anyone. They could not tell the representatives of TAEDP if Ke received TAEDP’s letter and if he was able to write letters freely. Thus, we had no idea whether Ke refused to approve the demand for constitutional interpretations.

No Fair Trial
Three of the death row inmates executed didn’t have any defense lawyers when they receiving the final rulings upholding the death penalty from the highest court. According to the International Covenant of the Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratified by President Ma, any death row inmates should have defense lawyers in any stage of the trial as legitimate legal procedures. However, Article 388 of the Criminal Procedure Law in Taiwan violates the ICCPR. Given the opportunity, the Grand Justices might have a chance to uphold this basic right recognized by the international society and might rule the death penalty unconstitutional. The Minster of Justice Tseng, nonetheless, intentionally and recklessly ignored this and acted before the decisions of the Grand Justices. The Ministry of Justice exceeded its powers over the mandates of the Judicial Yuan, claiming its action was "in accordance with the law," treating human life as if it were worthless. It proves that the Ministry of Justice’s promises to be cautious regarding execution were nothing but lies. Therefore, the Minister of Justice needs to shoulder the political responsibility.

Blindness to the ICCPR
On March, 29th, TAEDP also helped the 44 death row inmates demand pardons (the commutation of the penalty) from the President. President Ma didn’t refuse and stated that he had received the demand and asked the Ministry of Justice for further discussions. Nothing about this was mentioned in the press release of the Ministry of Justice. It could be seen as blindness to the ICCPR and overstepping its authority. If the government really wants to "administer in accordance with the law," it should make it clear how they processed the demand for commutation of the death penalty.

The Indignation of Men and Gods?
The Minister of Justice claimed that he would exercise his power carefully. Beside the original procedures, Tseng said another consultative group would be formed for circumspect consideration of the cases "arousing the indignation of men and gods." But now the only standard we can see is "the right to seal and authorize." After the handling of the letter of authorization in this case, the Minister of Justice should announce the names of the members of this consultative group and related information for public scrutiny.

The TAEDP feels deeply distressed that the 4 year and half moratorium on the death penalty was destroyed in one day and firmly appeals to the general public to rethink the death penalty. While there is still controversy over the death penalty, without careful procedures, the Ministry of Justice speeded up the executions instead of reexamining related laws and rules. It is again another manifestation of how the government signed the ICCPR with one hand and broke it with the other.

In the press release of the Ministry of Justice, it was said that "as for the 40 people demanding constitutional interpretations, the Ministry of Justice would see how it develops and act in accordance with the law." Consequently, we request the passage of legislation concerning commutation and an immediate stop to executions.

Amnesty appeal to Taiwan

Amnesty renews its call for Ma to end capital punishment
By Shelley Huang
STAFF REPORTER
31 March, 2010, Page 3
Taipei Times

Amnesty International yesterday renewed its call on President Ma Ying-jeou to abolish the death penalty.

Speaking at a press conference in Taipei to mark the group’s annual report on executions, Roseann Rife, deputy program director for Amnesty’s Asia-Pacific office, said: "Amnesty International reiterated to President Ma Ying-jeou that we look to Taiwan to also be a leader in the region and help influence China and Japan to take similar steps."

Amnesty International secretary-general Claudio Cordone wrote to Ma earlier this month to make a similar appeal.

Rife’s appeal came as the nation looks likely to execute the first of its 44 inmates on death row later this year. There has not been an execution since late 2005.

The issue of whether to abolish the death penalty resurfaced recently after minister of justice Wang Ching-feng was forced to resign because of reactions to a statement in which she made clear her support for the abolition of the death penalty and refused to sign off on outstanding execution orders.

Her successor, Tseng Yung-fu, said he would have no problem signing execution orders once all procedures have been completed.

At the press conference yesterday, Rife said that in many countries, death sentences are often the result of flawed legal procedures.

Many defendants are too poor to hire attorneys and court-appointed lawyers are often inexperienced or have heavy workloads, which is unfair to the defendants.

The rights group also urged Ma to follow the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights — which was signed by him last year and is now in force — to protect human rights by abolishing the death penalty.

In its annual report, Amnesty said that China, which uses the death penalty as a political weapon, had the highest number of executions last year.

The report shows that as of last year, 95 countries abolished the death penalty.

Although 58 countries have yet to abolish the death penalty, only 18 performed executions last year.

This was the first year Amnesty disregarded official information published by the Chinese government, which does not release exact figures because "executions are still kept as state secrets in China," Rife said.

The rights group alleges that the actual number of executions in China last year — estimated to be in the thousands — far exceeds the official figures released by Beijing.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA

Taiwan: Amnesty renews appeal

OPEN LETTER ON DEATH PENALTY IN TAIWAN
18 March 2010

President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Ma Ying-jeou
Office of the President
No. 122, Sec. 1, Chongqing S. Rd
Zhongzheng District
Taipei City 100
Taiwan (R.O.C)

18 March 2010

Your Excellency

OPEN LETTER ON DEATH PENALTY IN TAIWAN

Amnesty International has noted the recent debate on the death penalty sparked by former Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng's open support for a moratorium on executions and her subsequent resignation. We write to ask you to ensure that Taiwan remains firm in reaching for its stated goal of abolition of the death penalty.

We welcomed the assurances you gave us and other groups at our meeting on 18 June 2008, that Taiwan's de facto moratorium would remain in place. We urge you not to waiver from this stance. The lives of the 44 inmates on death row must not be compromised because of the current political controversy.

We look to Taiwan as a leader in the region on progress toward abolition. We hope that Taiwan's support for a moratorium, along with Mongolia's, where President Elbegdorj formally announced a moratorium in January 2010, will influence the governments of Japan and the People's Republic of China to take similar steps themselves.

As you stated during your meeting with the Prosecutors' Association on 15 March 2010, Taiwan must increase the public debate and education about the death penalty. We see the public attention surrounding the nomination of a new Minister of Justice as an opportunity to highlight the death penalty as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, one that runs the risk of irrevocable error, fails to provide restorative justice to victims' families, and has not been proven to have any special deterrent effect. The current public debate presents an opportunity to promote the global trend towards abolition, as now more than two-thirds of the countries of the world have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice, and to urge public support to this trend ahead of the United Nations General Assembly vote on a global moratorium scheduled for December 2010.

In a time of heightened political debate, we urge you to demonstrate leadership and continue on the path toward abolition.

Yours sincerely
Claudio Cordone
Secretary General (ad interim)