Public opinion is a factor selectively ignored or drawn upon by policymakers presenting their case, and the death penalty is no exception. In eight years in office, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) failed to carry out one of its professed goals: to abolish capital punishment. As it left office with the death penalty intact, the administration said its hands were tied because a majority of the public believed the death penalty to be an effective deterrent to violent crime.
The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) looks set to follow suit. The public can expect the Cabinet to cite opinion polls when it suits the administration and to turn a deaf ear on issues that do not serve its interests. When it comes to the death penalty, however, the new administration is already echoing the DPP.
Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) lost no time after the inauguration in promising to consider abolishing the death penalty. In the same breath, however, she warned that she had no clue how to go about achieving this goal, as it would run counter to public opinion. Almost 80 percent of the public supports capital punishment, Wang said, a figure also cited by the DPP.
Yet neither the DPP nor the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has shown much interest in propagating the fact that around 50 countries have abolished capital punishment over the past two decades — reasons that could shift public opinion. Today almost 140 countries have ceased to employ the death penalty, leaving Taiwan among a shrinking minority.
Studies have found no evidence that the threat of execution prevents violent crimes such as murder, nor have they found that these crimes multiply when the death penalty is removed. Capital punishment can therefore only serve two purposes: to assure the public that this “effective” deterrent exists (although it is not effective) and to fill a need for retribution proportional to the crime committed.
But modern justice systems have long since abandoned the “eye for an eye” philosophy as inadequate, inappropriate and inhumane. Thus, a rapist is not sentenced to rape. Furthermore, as the death penalty is irreversible, it should not be handed down by an imperfect judiciary. And with doubt-riddled trials like the Hsichih Trio’s, claiming the courts are infallible would be laughable.
The government must therefore make it clear to the public: Even one innocent person executed is far too high a price for what essentially boils down to revenge.
Taiwan also enforces the death penalty for nonviolent crimes such as selling drugs, which can only be described as draconian.
Under the DPP, the use of capital punishment decreased considerably. Although 29 people await execution, Taiwan has not carried out any executions since 2006 — nor does the public seem disturbed by that development. By Wang’s own admission, support for the death penalty falls to 40 percent if the public is assured of complementary measures, such as regulations on parole for violent criminals.
It would seem, then, not so daunting a task after all to present an alternative to the death penalty that both the public and government find fair. It is time for Taiwan’s leaders to stop serving up excuses and set the ball in motion.
To The Honorable Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜): We would like to extend our sincerest regards to you for representing Taiwan at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on Monday. The Taiwanese-American community was delighted to see that Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan speaker not only received an invitation to attend the event, but successfully made the trip to the US. We sincerely hope that you took this rare opportunity to share Taiwan’s achievements in freedom, democracy and economic development with delegations from other countries. In recent years, Taiwan’s economic growth and world-leading technology industry have been a source of pride for Taiwanese-Americans.
Next week, the nation is to celebrate the Lunar New Year break. Unfortunately, cold winds are a-blowing, literally and figuratively. The Central Weather Administration has warned of an approaching cold air mass, while obstinate winds of chaos eddy around the Legislative Yuan. English theologian Thomas Fuller optimistically pointed out in 1650 that “it’s always darkest before the dawn.” We could paraphrase by saying the coldest days are just before the renewed hope of spring. However, one must temper any optimism about the damage being done in the legislature by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), under
To our readers: Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Feb. 2, the Taipei Times will have a reduced format without our regular editorials and opinion pieces. From Tuesday to Saturday the paper will not be delivered to subscribers, but will be available for purchase at convenience stores. Subscribers will receive the editions they missed once normal distribution resumes on Sunday, Feb. 2. The paper returns to its usual format on Monday, Feb. 3, when our regular editorials and opinion pieces will also be resumed.
Young Taiwanese are consuming an increasing amount of Chinese content on TikTok, causing them to have more favorable views of China, a Financial Times report cited Taiwanese social scientists and politicians as saying. Taiwanese are being exposed to disinformation of a political nature from China, even when using TikTok to view entertainment-related content, the article published on Friday last week said. Fewer young people identify as “Taiwanese” (as opposed to “Chinese”) compared with past years, it wrote, citing the results of a survey last year by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation. Nevertheless, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would be hard-pressed
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