The majority of Taiwanese oppose abolishing the death penalty and think such a decision should be made through a referendum, a poll released yesterday showed.
More than 80 percent of respondents in the survey, conducted by a new think tank founded by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), said they oppose abolishing the death penalty and a Constitutional Court judgement on capital punishment.
Fifty-seven percent of respondents said the Constitution should be amended to limit the court’s power, while 65.8 percent said a public referendum on the death penalty should be held in 2026.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
In September, the Constitutional Court ruled that although the death penalty conforms with the Constitution, it should only be applied in “exceptional” cases.
KMT lawmakers criticized the ruling, saying “it effectively abolished capital punishment in Taiwan.”
The poll showed that the majority of Taiwanese want a referendum on capital punishment to be held alongside the 2026 general election, Lo told a news conference yesterday.
“More than 80 percent of people disagree with the Constitutional Court’s ruling on capital punishment. The justices should reflect on why their public support has diminished recently,” he said.
As a ruling by the Constitutional Court cannot be overturned, Taiwanese want to a referendum on the matter, he said.
That 57 percent of Taiwanese think the Constitution should be amended to limit the Constitutional Court’s power suggests that recent judgements issued by the justices do not align with public opinion, KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) said.
“The public feels their rights have been infringed upon by the justices’ judgement on the death penalty... When the justices go against the will of the people, direct democracy and public opinion should be exercised,” KMT Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) said.
People cannot accept that the justices have directed the legislature to amend the law according to their rulings, KMT Legislator Ye Yuan-zhi (葉元之) added.
Even among the survey’s respondents who self-identified as pan-green camp supporters, there is significant agreement on these issues, which places enormous pressure on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, Chinese Culture University professor Niu Tse-hsun (鈕則勳) said.
“The ruling party and the Central Election Commission should respect the will of the people and address their calls for a referendum on the death penalty,” he said.
The Apollo Survey and Research Co conducted the poll from Oct. 14 to Oct. 17 among Taiwanese aged 18 or older by phone. The survey had 1,081 valid samples, and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS