Death penalty unjustified
Lin Ko-wei (Letters, June 30, page 8), believes that the death penalty can deter criminals. All scientific studies show this is untrue, so I am not sure what grounds Lin has for believing otherwise.
Lin indicates that he realizes the death penalty may lead to the execution of innocent people. I imagine that if he were falsely condemned to death for murder, he would go to his execution saying that this risk was worth paying "in order to be safe." He might ask for more forensic tests and in murder cases, for DNA testing. But these tests are too expensive for Taiwan and he would surely not want us to waste taxpayers' money.
As an abolitionist, I happen to believe that no amount of money would be "wasted" in proving innocence. I also do not share his pessimistic view of society in Taiwan.
Most countries in the world do not need the death penalty to deter criminals. I fail to see why Taiwan should be an exception.
Edmund Ryden
Taipei
Pompous money launderers
The Taipei Times' coverage of the fire at Eastern Science Park suggests widespread corruption and broad ignorance of these mendacious practices.
As a kindergarten teacher, I partook in routine preparation for a "safety check" by the fire department. Announcement of the inspection was made one week in advance by a discreet phone call fixing the time and date. My duties as caretaker and educator of the nation's elite toddlers involved packing away toys, books and the kids' drawings, removing bookcases from in front of fire escapes the day before the inspection and taking off the day of the inspec-tion, unpaid.
My reckoning of this situation was that not even the most fundamental of government service providers could pass up the opportunity to make a regular buck from continuous and wilful neglect of their duties.
But the buck does not stop at the officially sanctioned service providers, in this case the Taipei City Fire Department and education bureau.
What about the owner of the chain schools for which I worked (a pillar of society), the children's parents (wealthy and educated) and the local and guest worker teachers?
No one wants to rock the boat, even when the lives of children are at stake. The issue was of course financial, for everyone. The kindergarten owner wants to become even more obscenely rich, the teachers want to keep their unprotected jobs, and the parents want "the best" for their children's future incomes.
If the government of Taiwan is to become anything more than a fatuous showcase of pompous money launderers paying lip service to moral integrity, every person who lives here must blow the whistle long and hard for what they think is right.
Without exception, we are all complicit in this fatal and ignoble negligence.
William Meldrum
Taipei
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