Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) said yesterday she would rather step down than execute any of the 44 individuals on death row.
“I will not execute any of the people on death row during my term. I would rather go to hell,” Wang, a devout Buddhist, told reporters after publishing a statement titled “Reason and Forgiveness — Suspension of Practicing the Death Penalty” on Tuesday, in which she expressed her opposition to capital punishment.
Wang’s comments came after Vice Minister of Justice Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘), President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) choice for state public prosecutor-general, told a legislative hearing reviewing his nomination on Monday that while the 44 convicts on death row should be executed, he would support an amendment abolishing the death penalty.
Huang told legislators that those already on death row should not have their sentences delayed indefinitely.
No executions have been carried out in four years since former minister of justice Morley Shih (施茂林) and then Wang adopted a policy that maintains capital punishment, but has stayed executions.
The death penalty is the most dangerous penalty, Wang said in her statement, because judges are “people,” not “God.”
The “Hsichih Trio” case was a good example, Wang said, as different judges reached very different verdicts — a death sentence versus not guilty — with almost the same evidence.
“Those who kill will not be able to make amends with their lives. Executing them would only break more families,” Wang said, adding that she understood the great pain of victims’ families and that the ministry would do its best to compensate and take care of them.
Responding to criticism that a stay of execution was unconstitutional, Wang said the Constitution protects human life, and human life cannot be taken away under the Constitution.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said later that Wang should step down for failing to uphold the law.
“If Wang does not offer to resign, I will submit a malpractice complaint to the Control Yuan,” he said.
“I think that Minister Wang should resign immediately to campaign for the abolition of the death penalty,” Wu told a meeting of the Internal Administration Committee, where National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) was being questioned over the matter.
“Since the death penalty is still part of our legal system, Wang Ching-feng’s stay of executions is in violation of the law and the Constitution,” Wu said.
Wang Cho-chiun said that as long as the death penalty is written in law, “the 44 people on death row should be executed.”
However, Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑), another KMT legislator, said abolishing the death penalty was a growing trend globally and that no matter who served as the next minister of justice, he or she should not sign any execution orders.
“Asking Wang Ching-feng to step down would be a waste of a good justice minister,” Hsieh said.
Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty executive director Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡) said: “The law gives the justice minister the power to decide whether to sign an execution order and does not place a limit on when it should be signed.”
“Wang Ching-feng was not acting against the law or the Constitution,” Lin said.
The minister’s decision was a responsible decision made in accordance with international human rights standards, Lin said.
Meanwhile, Control Yuan member Chao Chang-ping (趙昌平) said he would look into the appropriateness of the freeze on executions to determine if that was against the principles of fairness and rule of law.
Chao said the ministry must carry out sentences already handed down, lest its actions constitute negligence.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
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,
‘NOT SUBORDINATE’: Only Taiwanese can decide the nation’s future, and people preserving their democratic way of life is not a provocation, President William Lai said Taiwan does not want China’s “one country, two systems,” and must uphold its freedom and democracy as well as resolve to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, rejecting Beijing’s latest bid to bring the country under Chinese control. The president made the remarks while attending a commissioning ceremony for Taiwan’s first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口). The tanks are made by General Dynamics, a major US defense contractor. China this week said it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media
RSS