Legislators today questioned Judicial Yuan presidential nominee Chang Wen-chen (張文貞) on her views about the death penalty.
Chang, a National Taiwan University law professor, was nominated as the new president of the Judicial Yuan by President William Lai (賴清德) in August.
Chang said that she would respect the ruling of the Constitutional Court that the death penalty is constitutional.
Photo: Lo Pei-te, Taipei Times
The court ruled on Sep. 20 against abolishing the death penalty, but limited the scope of its enforcement, stating that life is a constitutional right that cannot be abused, and as such the death penalty could only be enforced for the most serious of crimes.
Asked if she supported the abolition of the death penalty by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), Chang said that the ruling of the court was to implement stricter conditions on its implementation and enforcement, but does not mean that the death penalty would not be enacted.
Chang stressed to Yang and KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) that any politician holding the highest judicial role in the nation may only take the position of upholding the Constitution.
Yang asked whether the latest ruling means that the death penalty has effectively been abolished, as has been widely speculated, to which Chang said that many overlooked the opening sentence of ruling that the death penalty is constitutional.
Chang said that she believes the death penalty’s constitutionality is not currently the most pressing matter in Taiwan, with many other issues concerning judicial reform across sectors from transportation to healthcare requiring the attention of legislators.
Yang asked Chang if she would push for the complete abolition of the death penalty upon assuming the role, to which she said this is a common misconception and she must respect the Constitution first and foremost.
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