Following an online petition urging the government to punish drunk drivers, sex offenders and child abusers by caning, Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Taiwanese society would have reservations about the potential human rights violations.
The petition, submitted to a government-funded policy discussion platform on Oct. 23, calls for the government to impose flogging as an additional punishment for drunk driving, sex offenses and violence against children.
With the petition being endorsed by 26,771 netizens, far exceeding the 5,000-signature threshold that requires an official reply from the government, Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) is to preside over a public hearing to discuss the proposal on Dec. 1.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Although current sentiment might favor “a strict penal code in a time of turbulence,” Taiwan is a democratic and law-abiding nation where human rights are valued, Lai said, calling for a more in-depth discussion of the issue.
“A majority of the population will likely have reservations about adopting caning like in Singapore,” Lai said, without revealing his position on the issue.
Tang said the hearing would provide an opportunity to discuss the effectiveness of flogging as a punishment and the possible human rights violations it would entail, as well as its appropriateness for Taiwanese society and alternative methods to prevent crime.
No policy would be formed during the discussion, Tang added.
Asked whether the government should reject the proposal outright instead of convening a hearing over a proposal that apparently runs counter to international human rights covenants, she said that the government should not reject a petition simply because of its provocativeness.
“The person who submitted the petition said he proposed flogging because he believes the Criminal Code is ineffective in preventing those crimes and he hopes to raise public awareness about them, but he is not adamant about flogging,” Tang said.
Many petitions submitted on the platform have proposed seemingly difficult solutions to social situations that would require government efforts, and the government should understand the purpose of such petitions, if not the proposed solutions, she said.
Tang refused to express her stance on the issue, saying that she has to remain neutral as a government official and that her duty is to collect public opinion and possible solutions to facilitate the government’s decisionmaking.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
RSS