Taiwan will continue to respect the rule of law and enforce the death penalty despite condemnation from the EU, Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) said yesterday at a legislative hearing.
Speaking at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary Committee just five days after the execution of five death row inmates, Tseng said Taiwan was determined to govern according to the law, and promised legislators that he “can handle any pressure.”
The executions have been condemned by the EU, the European Parliament and several human rights groups, including Amnesty International. European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek criticized the executions in an official statement on Tuesday, calling on Taiwan to reinstate a moratorium on the death penalty.
In response to lawmakers’ questions, Tseng said he had not received any information on reports that EU parliamentarians want to scrap Taiwan’s EU visa-waiver because of the executions.
Tseng said there was no connection between the issues, as Taiwan had not made any promises on stopping or suspending the implementation of the death penalty to the EU during the bloc’s screening of an EU visa-waiver for Taiwanese, which took effect on Jan. 11.
However, he said Taiwan would explain its stance on capital punishment to the EU to deal with the concerns raised.
“The ministry is preparing a position paper that will cover the reasons and cultural legacy behind the implementation of the death penalty in Taiwan and describe its efforts to strive toward the goal of abolishing the death penalty in the future,” Tseng said.
Friday’s executions were carried out less than a year after the Ministry of Justice resumed the enforcement of the death penalty under pressure from the families of victims of violent crime, ending an unofficial moratorium that had existed since 2005.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has said that although Taiwan hoped to abolish the death penalty, most legislators, pressured by their constituents, oppose the abolition of capital punishment.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) urged Tseng to carry out executions of death row inmates because “we cannot wait another year for the next executions.”
However, Tseng said that there was no timetable for future executions, adding that he could not predict when they would occur.
The ministry will not deliberately postpone executions, but “there are currently no new execution orders on my desk either,” the minister told lawmakers.
The visa-waiver program, which took effect in January, allows Republic of China passport holders access to the 25 countries of the Schengen area and 10 other European countries and territories for stays of up to 90 days without the need for a visa.
On whether the ministry would suspend the implementation of the death penalty because of such concerns, Tseng said he could not comment on the question.
“The ministry will carefully consider all voices that ask for the implementation of death penalty or are opposed to the executions,” Tseng said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said last week it would continue to communicate with the EU to seek its views on Taiwan’s stance on capital punishment.
The ministry said that while Taiwan respects human rights, it must abide by existing regulations because it is a country that upholds the rule of law.
Taiwanese have also not yet reached a consensus on whether to abolish capital punishment, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Ma said at a different venue that the visa-waiver program would encourage more Taiwanese to visit Europe.
“The EU’s granting of visa-free privileges to Taiwan carried historical significance in relations between the two, and we expect the number of people who visit European countries to increase 20 percent,” Ma said during a meeting with Belgian Defense Minister Mark Eyskens at the Presidential Office.
Regarding the EU’s criticism of the executions, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said the EU granted Taiwan visa-free treatment after long discussions and was not likely to reverse its decision easily.
“The EU undertook long discussions before deciding to grant visa-free privileges to Taiwanese, and I don’t think it will cancel the program because Taiwan carried out executions,” he said.
However, Wang acknowledged that the executions could harm Taiwan’s reputation in Europe and affect European countries’ support for issues related to Taiwan.
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