The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty and three European offices in Taiwan will organize a series of activities early next month to encourage the abolition of the death penalty and help advance the debate on the issue.
One of the centerpiece events will be a seminar on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7 called “New Perspectives on Abolishing the Death Penalty,” organized by the alliance and the German Institute in Taipei, the alliance said on Friday.
German academics will discuss the issue from a variety of perspectives such as the relationship between the abolition of the death penalty and social safety, victim protection and prison reform.
“The objective of Taiwan’s Criminal Code is to re-educate and reform prisoners, not to kill them,” said an alliance worker, who expected that the activities would help promote human rights and encourage debate on the issue.
The worker, who only gave her surname Chiu because she only volunteers for the organization, also suggested that Taiwan should learn from Germany’s experience, where there have been considerable achievements in prisoner re-education.
The alliance said no individuals have been executed in Taiwan since 2005, but there are 31 convicts who have been sentenced to death.
One of the individuals was sentenced on the Double Ten national holiday, which is also the World Day Against the Death Penalty.
The French office will hold a conference on Nov. 3 on how Taiwan can move toward abolishing the death penalty, in partnership with National Taipei University and the Taiwan Law Society, with the support of the European Economic and Trade Office.
Two French experts, Sylvie Bukhari de Pontual, a lawyer and member of the Bar of Paris, and Michel Forst, general secretary of the French National Consultative Commission for Human Rights, will talk about the need for criminal code reform and abolition of the death penalty, and on the death penalty in the context of international law, the office said.
A film featuring Robert Badinter, senator and former French minister of justice, who is renowned for his activism in support of abolishing capital punishment in France, will also be screened at the conference.
British experts will also share their experiences with Taiwan on Nov. 13 and Nov. 14.
They will discuss how to advance the process of eliminating the death penalty in Taiwan.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party