Activists opposed to the death penalty yesterday protested outside the Control Yuan in Taipei against Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien, who had praised the executions last Friday of six prisoners.
The protesters also asked the Control Yuan to look into Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu’s (曾勇夫) signing of the execution orders.
Holding up signs condemning executions and Wang’s remarks that the execution of prisoners on death row is a manifestation of justice and that he would praise Tseng for his decision to sign the execution orders, activists called on Wang to apologize and accused Tseng of illegally executing the prisoners.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“It’s Wang’s personal freedom to support capital punishment. However, as head of the Control Yuan, he should have launched an investigation into the signing of the execution orders, instead of praising illegal homicide by the Ministry of Justice,” said Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠), an attorney and a long-time human rights advocate. “This is encourages officials to act illegally.”
Kao said that, according to Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), “anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence.”
“Tseng knows that all the six executed prisoners requested a presidential pardon, and the Presidential Office has also confirmed that it received those requests,” Kao said. “Hence, the six should not have been executed before the Presidential Office responded, whether or not amnesty would be granted.”
After President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) signing and the Legislative Yuan’s ratification and adoption of a law on imposing the ICCPR and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the two international human rights covenants are granted the status of domestic laws, “thus any government official who claims that he or she is acting according to the law should act according to the two covenants as well,” Kao said.
Control Yuan member Yeh Yao-peng (葉耀鵬) accepted the petition and promised to launch a probe into the ministry’s administrative responsibility on the executions.
A Control Yuan staffer said that Wang is on leave and out of the country, and was thus unable to be contacted to meet with the demonstrators.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS