Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) yesterday told the legislature that while the ministry could carry out another execution “very soon,” it would take the national interest into consideration and respect the views expressed by a group of experts who are reviewing Taiwan’s human rights situation.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Te-fu (林德福) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday that two members of an international committee responsible for inspecting Taiwan’s first national human rights report had sent a letter to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) saying they hoped the ministry would not carry out executions before the committee completes its review of the report, which is due by the end of February.
The two members — Manfred Nowak, professor of International Law and Human Rights at Vienna University, and Eibe Riedel, a member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights — are part of a committee of international human rights experts invited by the Ministry of Justice to review the report.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Lin asked whether the ministry had delayed executions and if so, when it intended to carry out the next round of executions.
Chen said there are currently 61 prisoners on death row, and that the ministry would carry out an execution “very soon,” possibly before the end of February.
Chen added that the ministry follows its own timetable in carrying out capital punishment, but respects the suggestions made by rights experts.
At a separate setting, Peng Kun-yeh (彭坤業), director of the ministry’s Legal System Department, said that if Nowak and Riedel were to withdraw from the committee, other members would follow suit.
Meanwhile, Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien spoke out against abolishing the death penalty, saying that as a sovereign nation, Taiwan should not be swayed by humanitarianism in this regard.
Wang contacted reporters yesterday to offer his views on the matter.
“The Republic of China [Taiwan] is a sovereign, independent nation. It shouldn’t be led by the nose by world humanitarian groups over the death penalty issue. Regarding human rights issues discussed in the world, we follow global norms when we consider they are right, but we do not follow those which do not fit the needs of the nation,” Wang said.
To do away with capital punishment is not something the Taiwanese government has to do to demonstrate that it values human rights, Wang said.
“Every country has its own situation. Countries opposing the use of the death penalty represent a minority opinion in the world. A world without capital punishment would become more chaotic and more people would be harmed,” he said.
The possibility that innocent people could be executed because of errors in the criminal justice system is not a good reason to scrap the death sentence, Wang said.
“Does it make sense that we introduce a ban on stewed meat just because there was a report about a person choking to death after eating a piece of stewed meat?” he asked.
“People in favor of abolishing the death penalty have promoted the rights of prisoners and argued that they have the right to life, but what about justice for the victims?” Wang asked.
Wang said he views human nature as depraved, “just like venomous serpents and fierce beasts.”
“Education, religion and legal punishment all help deter crimes. If the death penalty is abolished, there will be more innocent people affected by crime,” he said.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
RSS