Taiwan's most notorious criminal, Chen Chin-hsing (
Prosecutor Chang Hwei-chiung (
Despite previous media reports yesterday that Chen might be executed as early as last night, the order had not reached Yeh's office as of yesterday afternoon.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, LIBERTY TIMES
Chen's case has been marred by disputes over the validity of the law applied to his case. Human rights groups and some legal experts argue that the Act for the Control and Punishment of Banditry (懲治盜匪條例), commonly known as the "bandit law," violates basic human rights and is no longer valid. They say that the government has repeatedly ignored one article of the 1944 law requiring its annual renewal to stay in effect.
However, the legislature, the Ministry of Justice, and the Supreme Court all recently concluded that the law is still in effect.
As the legal debate continues, Yeh has yet to order executions of nine others convicted under the law, including the famous Hsichih trio, who many lawyers believe have been wrongly convicted.
Chen and two accomplices plunged Taipei into a security nightmare in April 1997 when they kidnapped the 17-year-old daughter of entertainer Pai Ping-ping (白冰冰). Together with Lin Chun-sheng (林春生) and Kao Tien-min (高天民), Chen was on the run from police for seven months after kidnapping and beating the girl to death.
The case triggered public anger over the government's perceived inability to stem deteriorating social order. The outrage culminated in street demonstrations in May 1997, when tens of thousands of people demanded the resignation of then-premier Lien Chan (連戰).
While on the run, Chen and his gang committed two more kidnappings and a grisly triple murder at a plastic surgeon's clinic in October. Lin and Kao were eventually killed in separate shootouts with the police. Chen, meanwhile, later admitted to having preyed on many young women living alone in Taipei and raping them.
The drama ended in November when Chen broke into the residence of the South African military attache and held his family hostage for 24 hours before surrendering.
While on death row, Chen handed a 50,000-character confession to a Christian group. The Ministry of Justice reacted strongly to the group's plan to have his confessions published. The group has postponed the publication.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS