The random killing spree on a Taipei MRT train on Wednesday has reignited debate about the death penalty, with a legislator recommending that the perpetrator be put to death.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) suggested revising the law to penalize random killing on public transportation with mandatory death penalty.
“Those who randomly kill should die,” Tsai said on Facebook, in response to the incident in which four people were killed and 23 injured.
“I therefore propose amending Article 271-1 of the Criminal Code to penalize random killers with the death penalty or life in prison, while those who randomly kill on public transportation should be subject to mandatory capital punishment.”
Tsai also proposed amending the Mass Rapid Transit Act (大眾捷運法) to penalize those who carry guns or knives on MRT trains with up to five years in prison, and those who “interrupt” the operations of the MRT system with up to three years in prison.
Taiwan Association for Human Rights chairman Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said that Tsai’s proposal does not make sense and may be unconstitutional.
“Article 271 of the Criminal Code authorizes the judge to decide whether to give a murderer the death penalty, life in prison, or 10 years or more in prison depending on the motivation or number of victims,” said Chiu, a lawyer. “If it is stipulated in the law that random killing on public transportation systems can only be penalized by death, it would be taking away the judge’s right to make an independent judgement based on the different circumstances in each case.”
Chiu added that, in principle, laws should be applied to all cases, not to one particular case.
“[Tsai’s] proposal to amend the law for a particular case may be unconstitutional,” Chiu said.
The killings have also reignited debate over whether capital punishment should be abolished.
Speaking to reporters, the son of Pan Pi-chu (潘碧珠), one of the victims in Wednesday’s attack, challenged members of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) whether they would still support abolishing the death penalty if their families were murdered as his mother was.
His remarks soon triggered a heated debate on the Internet, with supporters of the death penalty saying that such random murderers should be penalized by death, while opponents argued that capital punishment has not helped to lower the crime rate — especially as the MRT incident happened not long after the execution of five death row inmates.
In a press statement, the TAEDP said that, while it also believes that criminal offenders should be responsible for their actions, “the killings on the Taipei MRT just proves that the death penalty does not stop crime.”
“In fact, from 2006 to 2009, when there was a de facto suspension of the death penalty in Taiwan, the crime rate steadily dropped, which shows that the suspension of executions would not make security worse,” the statement said.
“If media reports that the suspect killed because he wanted to be executed are true, the death penalty is ironically one of the reasons that triggered the crime,” it said.
“Killing does not stop killing; hate only incites more hate; the government should remember this lesson and stop dodging its responsibility [to lower the crime rate] by resorting to executions,” the statement said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS