The Central Election Commission (CEC) is next month to hold an administrative hearing to decide on whether to hold a referendum next year on a proposal to expedite the execution of prisoners on death row, it said yesterday.
As of February, Taiwan had 38 death row inmates, Ministry of Justice data showed. All of them are seeking constitutional interpretations of their sentencing.
Taiwan Lily Justice Association chairman Hsu Shao-chan (徐紹展) is the main force behind the proposal.
Photo: CNA
The referendum would ask voters whether they agree to amend Article 145 of the Prison Act (監獄行刑法) by adding that the death sentence should be carried out within six months of the final judgement. The proposed amendment would stipulate that the execution must continue unless otherwise stated in the act.
The commission last week issued a statement saying that it would hold an administrative hearing to settle potential issues with the proposal.
“The most controversial part of the case is that it specifically states how the law should be changed. The referendum should be administered to decide whether a new legislative principle should be created, because the wording of a new law must be very precise. We are not sure whether the person wants to establish a new law or a new legislative principle, and a hearing is to be held to clarify those issues,” CEC Chairman Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) told a joint meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration, and Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes committees.
Meanwhile, Lee told the committees that an electronic system for people to sign referendum petitions would become operational within six months of the Administration for Cyber-security completing a final test of the system.
“Cybersecurity experts from the Executive Yuan came to the CEC in July last year and identified 42 items that need reinforced protection,” Lee said. “The Administration for Cyber-security also conducted a safety test of the system and asked the commission to address safety issues with these 42 items.”
“We completed measures to bolster the security of these 42 items by the end of last month and presented results to the Administration for Cyber-security. So long as the administration verifies the results, we are confident the system could be up and running in six months,” Lee said.
The New Power Party (NPP) caucus yesterday criticized the CEC for the delay in launching the electronic system.
“It has been six years since the amendment to the Referendum Act (公民投票法) was passed in the legislature, and the system is not yet available. The commission has been giving various reasons to delay the launch of the system,” NPP Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭) said.
The commission must periodically report its progress to the people, Wang said.
“Should the CEC fail again to launch the system as it promised, it must take political responsibility, apologize to the public and propose solutions,” she said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS