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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
RSS