A majority of Taiwanese oppose the abolition of the death penalty, the results of a survey released yesterday by the Foundation for the People showed.
The poll found that 86.9 percent of respondents opposed the abolition of capital punishment in Taiwan, while 12.4 percent were in favor.
While Taiwan has not abolished capital punishment, 79.9 percent of respondents believed the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has essentially ceased the practice.
Photo: CNA
The survey found that 88.8 percent were dissatisfied that the Tsai administration carried out only two executions over the past six years.
According to the poll, 90.3 percent believe that the nation’s 38 death-row inmates should be executed soon.
Only 10.4 percent of respondents agreed with Tsai’s statement that “abolition of the death penalty is a universal goal.”
Asked whether they think capital punishment helps prevent serious crimes, 88.1 percent of respondents said yes.
The poll also showed that 73.6 percent are dissatisfied with public safety in Taiwan, while 25.5 percent are satisfied.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), chairman of the foundation, said that a cross-analysis of survey results showed that opposition to the abolition of the death penalty crossed age groups and party affiliations.
The poll, conducted on Wednesday and Thursday by sending out questionnaires on Facebook, collected 1,050 valid responses from people aged 18 or older. It has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 3.02 percentage points.
The poll was conducted shortly after the killing of two police officers in Tainan last month.
The Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday said prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the 46-year-old suspect, Lin Hsin-wu (林信吾), who has been charged with aggregate larceny, murder, robbery and illegal use of firearms and a knife.
Prosecutors said Lin did not show sympathy for the officers, 36-year-old Tu Ming-cheng (?明誠) and 27-year-old Tsao Rui-jie (曹瑞傑), as he stole a handgun and two magazines containing 18 bullets from one of them and abandoned the two injured officers as they lay dying on the ground on Aug. 23.
What Lin committed was a felony, investigators said.
Minister of Justice Tsai Ching- hsiang (蔡清祥) has voiced support for prosecutors seeking the death penalty for Lin.
During interrogation, Lin was aware that he had killed two police officers, and expressed hope that the trial would be concluded quickly and his sentence would be handed down as soon as possible, prosecutors’ office spokesman Hsu Chia-lung (許嘉龍) said.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS