President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said the government cannot abolish capital punishment because society needs time to reach a consensus on the issue, according to Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信).
Chen’s remarks came after some observers interpreted a comment by Ma a day earlier as a sign that his administration might be considering abolishing the death penalty.
Asked about increased calls against ending the death penalty after an attack on an eight-year-old girl in a school bathroom in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) on Friday, Ma said that two views he described as “opposing” have been debated for some time: Some people believe that capital punishment does not deter crime, while others believe that abolishing the death penalty would encourage crime.
Photo: CNA
“I think we better observe this for some more time,” Ma said.
Chen yesterday quoted Ma as saying that the government is unable to scrap capital punishment at the moment, but would continue to work toward reducing its application.
When meeting recently with a British parliamentary group in favor of the abolition of the death penalty, Ma said that the majority of Taiwanese are against ending capital punishment, Chen said.
The president also referred to a 2012 Ministry of Justice poll in which 76.7 percent of respondents opposed scrapping the death penalty, while more than 85 percent believe that abolishing the death penalty would affect public security, Chen said.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that further dialogue with those who advocate abolishing capital punishment is needed in the wake of the slaying of the second-grader.
Every child is the darling of their parents and the party was saddened by the tragedy, DPP spokesman Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said, adding that all children should be able to study in an environment free from fear.
Complex and serious social problems were behind the killing, not just the issue of campus security, Wang said.
On the abolition of the death penalty, there are still deficiencies in the complementary measures of the current law, and also different views in society regarding the issue, he said.
“We need to have further dialogue and communication,” he said.
The suspect in the slaying, Kung Chung-an (龔重安), 29, reportedly said he was under great pressure and suffering from auditory hallucinations at the time of the incident.
His elder brother said Kung moved out of the family home five years ago.
He did not know how a previously normal person could turn into a killer, the brother added.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS