Recent calls from local activists and the international community for Taiwan to abolish the death penalty have fallen on deaf ears.
The News Lens
Date: 2016/10/05
By: Edward White
A high-level international delegation is in Taipei this week lobbying the government to abolish the death
Photo Credit: Reuters/達志影像
penalty.
The group, which includes the U.K.’s former top public prosecutor, will hold meetings with President Tsai Ing-Wen (蔡英文) and Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), as well as several of the country’s legal and academic institutions.
Ahead of the visit, the Guardian reported that the group’s “ultimate aim” was to persuade President Tsai to abandon capital punishment. Their visit is scheduled to cover judicial reform, forensic psychiatry, judicial human rights and other issues.
As the paper notes, polls show that Taiwanese overwhelmingly support the death penalty. Nevertheless, international experience — particularly in Europe — shows that if politicians act on the issue rather than wait for the electorate to vote on it, public support will follow. [FULL STORY]
