On World Day Against the Death Penalty yesterday, anti-capital punishment and education reform activists urged the government to introduce the debate on death penalty in schools so that students could start thinking about controversial issues early.
“When we try to promote abolition of the death penalty, we often run into supporters of capital punishment who refuse to talk to us at all,” Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty executive director Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
“They don’t know why we oppose the death penalty and aren’t interested in listening to us. They simply don’t want to talk to us because we represent something they don’t agree with,” the director said.
However, when those who support and oppose the death penalty have a chance to talk — at conferences and forums — about half of those who support the death penalty change their minds and raise constructive ideas on how capital punishment could be abolished without negatively impacting society, she said.
The situation highlights a problem in society — people are often reluctant to listen to what others have to say, especially when it concerns a controversial issue, and that is why discussion of controversial issues should be introduced into the education system, she said.
Nicolas Baudouin, policy officer of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan, who has spoken out against the death penalty and took part in the press conference, agreed.
“Supporting abolition of the death penalty is a decision that everyone must make for themselves. That is why a better understanding of the death penalty is needed,” he said. “This is more true for the younger generation, which needs to be informed since they will have to decide one day as citizens.”
He said that all studies showed that abolition of the death penalty did not lead to increases in crime and that the death penalty was not a more effective measure to stop crime than other punishments.
Rather, capital punishment “represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity,” Baudouin said. “Besides, any miscarriage of justice — which is inevitable in any legal system — is irreversible [in the case of capital punishment], bearing a terrible aftermath for the victims of mistrials.”
Joanna Feng (馮喬蘭), executive director of the Humanistic Education Foundation, said that discussing the death penalty in schools could be a good start for further debates on controversial issues in education, which would better prepare students for the real world.
“Our education system never allows students to talk about controversial issues, which means that students do not know how to face people with different opinions when they leave school,” Feng said.
“I believe that’s the main cause of confrontation — rather than debates and talks — in our society,” Feng said.
The activists, along with teachers, are taking part in a four-day seminar that began yesterday to come up with a teaching manual on the debate over the death penalty for Taiwanese teachers based on a manual published by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty this year.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS