Former minister of justice and children’s rights advocate Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) passed away on Saturday night, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang (王育敏) said yesterday.
She did not disclose the cause of death, citing privacy reasons. Luo, 69, was minister of justice from September 2013 to May 2016 in the administration of then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Before leading the ministry, she served as a presidential adviser and minister without portfolio.
Until her passing, Luo was chairwoman of the Child Welfare League Foundation.
Her advocacy for children dates back to the 1990s, when she campaigned for legal amendments to better protect children’s rights.
While heading the ministry, Luo was reluctant to approve executions, because, as a Buddhist, she said she was in favor of abolishing capital punishment. However, she signed execution orders for 12 death row inmates, including Cheng Chieh (鄭捷), who killed four people and injured 22 on a Taipei MRT train in 2014.
Luo was the first justice minister to be invited to China, which she visited in March 2016.
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