Four people on death row were executed yesterday evening, the Ministry of Justice announced last night.
The ministry made the announcement after the four people were shot with pistols at 7:30pm at four different prisons.
The four had been given death sentences and were executed in accordance with the law, the ministry said.
The four were Chang Wen-wei (張文蔚), Ko Shih-ming (柯世銘), Chang Wei-long (張慰龍) and Hong Chen-yao (洪晨耀).
Chang Wen-wei was given a death sentence for the kidnapping and murder of a 16-year-old in Taichung County. He committed the crime while he was out on parole.
Ko had been handed two death sentences for killing a man in a business dispute in Tainan County, as well as a woman who witnessed the murder.
Chang Wei-long kidnapped his friend’s seven-year-old daughter in Taoyuan County and murdered her after he was paid a ransom.
Hong was found guilty of murdering three people over debt disputes in Hsinchu County. He told police he killed them because he was upset.
Until yesterday’s executions, the Ministry of Justice had not approved an execution since December 2005.
Saying that Taiwan is a country of law and order where all procedures are conducted in accordance with the law, Presidential Office Spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) last night said there must be a legal base for a stay of execution, otherwise the Ministry of Justice should proceed according to the law.
More discussion is needed before the public reaches a consensus on whether the death penalty should be abolished, he said.
The issue of abolishing the death penalty came to the fore in March when then-minister of justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) openly stated her objections to capital punishment and said she would not approve any executions as minister. Her statements led to public criticism, especially by victims’ families and opposition legislators and Wang later resigned.
New Justice Minister Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) has said he would approve the executions of prisoners on death row if they have exhausted the appeals process.
In view of the controversial issue, the ministry recently held hearings to gather the public’s opinions on the matter.
At a hearing held in Banciao (板橋), Taipei County, on April 21, Tseng said the ministry would review the cases of all 44 inmates now on death row, and exhaust all relief measures before carrying out any executions.
“Carrying out the death sentences will not drag to the end of this year,” Tseng said at the time.
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
TWO HEAVYWEIGHTS: Trump and Xi respect each other, are in a unique position to do something great, and they want to do that together, the US envoy to China said The administration of US President Donald Trump has told Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) “we don’t want any coercion, but we want [the Taiwan dispute] resolved peacefully,” US ambassador to China David Perdue said in a TV interview on Thursday. Trump “has said very clearly, we are not changing the ‘one China’ policy, we are going to adhere to the Taiwan Relations Act, the three communiques and the ‘six assurances’ that were done under [former US president Ronald] Reagan,” Perdue told Joe Kernen, cohost of CNBC’s Squawk Box. The act, the Three Joint Communiques and the “six assurances” are guidelines for Washington
DEEPENING TIES: The two are boosting cooperation in response to China’s coercive actions and have signed MOUs on search-and-rescue and anti-smuggling efforts Taiwan and Japan are moving to normalize joint coast guard training and considering the inclusion of other allies, the Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. Both nations’ coast guards in June sent vessels to the seas south of the Sakishima Islands to conduct joint training, the report said, adding that it was the second joint maritime training exercise since the nations severed formal diplomatic ties in September 1972. Japan dispatched the Nagoya Coast Guard’s Mizuho, a 134m, 6,000-tonne patrol vessel which can carry a helicopter, while the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sent the 126m, 4,000-tonne Yunlin, one of its largest vessels, the report
RSS