Taiwan values hard work and is an exciting, young democracy. This month, it has an opportunity to keep moving forward in its progressive political journey.
Taiwan ranks higher on The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index than any other country in Asia and is second in Asia on Freedom House’s list of free countries. Its rankings on both indices are higher than those of my country, the US, which is often seen as a model.
I have been inspired by my friends in the Taiwanese human rights community who take full advantage of the open civic space to champion national human rights causes, and provide needed solidarity and support to activists struggling in less open societies in the region.
Taiwan is becoming internationally known for making sensible public policy. My friends and family were deeply worried for my safety when they saw news of the earthquake last week. It registered at 7.2 on the Richter scale, which would have left a greater trail of destruction and a higher death toll in many other countries. However, Taiwan’s policies, implemented since the devastating 921 Earthquake, made it well-prepared.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan showed the world what sound public health policy could look like. My own country saw more than 1 million deaths, with a 5.7 percent mortality rate compared with Taiwan’s 0.186 percent. Decisions in the US were clouded by a highly chaotic and politically charged debate about basic public health measures that no one questioned in Taiwan.
This month, Taiwan has a significant opportunity regarding sensible public policy and international human rights norms. The Constitutional Court is evaluating the constitutionality of the death penalty. Only 27 percent of the world’s countries have retained this punishment for ordinary crimes. Most of these have authoritarian regimes, with the US being a major outlier.
In my 15 years working for Amnesty International in the US, I have witnessed how the death penalty is a blight on any country that aligns itself with human rights. Its staying power primarily comes from politicians’ ability to manipulate the public’s fears, rather than from any proven impact on deterring violent crime or delivering justice without deadly errors and bias. After a few decades of discovering an incredible number of innocence cases, the clamor to execute prisoners has become less loud.
High-profile murder cases in Taiwan predictably result in cries for the death penalty, amplified by a media that provokes drama. With 0.8 murders in 100,000 compared with 7 in 100,000 in the US, I would argue that Taiwan does not have a serious violent crime problem, despite the tragedy it is to the loved ones of the victims.
Regardless of how you view violent crime in Taiwan, the US has proven that capital punishment does not lower murder rates and is a distraction from tangible services that could better help devastated victims’ families. The international community has increasingly been turning its back on the death penalty given its contradiction of the right to life, to be free from cruel and inhumane punishment and to be treated equally under the law.
Taiwan is at a crossroads. It has chosen to let the judicial system evaluate the death penalty. Now, it can rationally and objectively look at the system without inflammatory cries for vengeance or factually inaccurate claims about its utility.
The court has a momentous opportunity to evaluate whether a democracy with a Constitution that enshrines human rights can accommodate a practice that no longer aligns with international human rights norms. Should it decide that the death penalty is incompatible with the values of a liberal democracy, perhaps my country would take notice of yet another example of Taiwan leading in sound public policy.
Laura Moye is a human rights activist and teacher living in Taichung.
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