Outgoing Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) on his final day in office yesterday rejected a suggestion that he was forced out because he would not order executions.
At a farewell ceremony held by the ministry, Chiu was asked about his thoughts on the death penalty and his handling of several high-profile murder cases, which media reported was the reason for Chiu being forced out in the Cabinet reshuffle.
A number of heinous crimes were committed over the past few months, but it would not be right to rush to conclusions, Chiu said, implying that ordering executions would be the wrong response.
Photo: CNA
“Protecting social stability and public safety requires the establishment of a strong social safety net,” he said. “The justice ministry has since last year been working with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to improve treatment for people with mental problems.”
“Police have also taken measures to prevent heinous crimes. We have seen several serious cases lately, but it would be inappropriate if we ignored the roots of the problem and dealt with it in a rushed way,” Chiu added.
Following several highly publicized dismemberments, there have been calls for judges to hand down death sentences and for the justice minister to sign execution orders.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Chiu denied that his departure had to do with controversy over the death penalty.
He also rejected reporters’ suggestions that he was sacked because he stalled the decision to grant former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) early medical parole on appeal.
Investigation Bureau Director-General Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) is to succeed Chiu.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Ministry of the Interior yesterday held their own farewell parties for outgoing Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) and outgoing Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮).
When asked about his plans, Hochen said that he would hike New Taipei City’s Danlan Old Trail (淡蘭古道).
Yeh, who on Monday is to take over as education minister, sang a Taiwanese song titled Persistence (堅持) at the farewell party and encouraged his soon-to-be former colleagues to persist and maintain an attitude befitting of their roles as government officials.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS