A large majority of the public favors harsher sentences for people convicted of killing children under the age of 12, according to a poll, which showed strong support for the death penalty following the decapitation of a four-year-old girl on Monday.
A survey conducted by Television Broadcasts Satellite’s (TVBS) poll center found that 81 percent of respondents supported mandatory death or life in prison sentences for murder of a child under 12 years old.
Lawmakers have proposed making the sentences mandatory following the decapitation of the girl, surnamed Liu (劉), nicknamed “Little Lightbulb” (小燈泡), in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖).
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
Broad support for the proposed changes cut across party lines and age groups, with 64 percent of those surveyed “extremely supportive.”
The TVBS poll found that 84 percent of respondents supported maintaining the death penalty, up 2 percentage points from a similar survey conducted in June last year. Support for abolishing the death penalty fell 3 percentage points from the previous poll.
When asked whether life in prison without parole could serve as an alternative to the death penalty, only 27 percent agreed, the poll showed.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
There was a slight decline in the percentage of those who said that the death penalty acts as a deterrent for crime, with 79 percent agreeing compared with 85 percent last year.
The cable network operator’s telephone poll was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, with 847 valid samples and a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.
In related news, the girl’s mother — identified as Claire Wang — said on Facebook yesterday that while she “does not support” the death penalty, she also “does not agree” with its abolition.
“Often many thoughts and ideas are like religion and politics — rooted in the heart. Those who believe will always believe and those who do not never will — I only believe in what I’ve always believed in,” she said. “I still believe that love is the heart’s first intention, that society is beautiful and that human nature at its root is good.”
She asked that people who read her Facebook comments to “forgive” her for failing to respond or clarify every comment, adding that she was not “mighty” or “extraordinary” and lacked strength, caring only that her family and friends understood her.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu
RSS