Two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-affiliated groups yesterday urged the Constitutional Court to uphold the constitutionality of the death penalty, with justices expected to issue a ruling tomorrow.
More than 80 percent of Taiwanese who participated in the organizations’ polls and group discussions said they opposed the abolition of capital punishment, the Chinese Association for Human Rights and Taiwan Deliberative Democracy Association told a news conference in Taipei.
Taiwan Deliberative Democracy Association Chu Yun-peng (朱雲鵬), who was a minister without portfolio under former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), said that 81.6 percent of respondents in its survey supported the death penalty, while 17 percent opposed it.
Photo: Wang Kuan-jen, Taipei Times
When respondents joined group discussions that exposed them to legal information prepared by the groups, support for the death penalty dropped slightly to 80.2 percent and opposition decreased to 9.2 percent, while the undecided increased to 10.6 percent, Chu said.
Following group discussions, people who believed that only murderers should be put to death fell from 75.9 percent to 59 percent, while supporters of life in prison without parole dropped from 43.3 percent to 34.1 percent, he said.
“This shows that the public ... are more judicious when it comes to the death penalty issue after learning that a life sentence does not necessarily mean life in prison, and that there are constitutional and practical concerns about incarceration without parole,” he said.
In addition, 80.9 percent of respondents who later participated in discussion groups said they agreed with the statement that keeping the death penalty does not go against international trends, he said.
Chu said that 16.3 percent of discussion participants agreed that Constitutional Court justices should decide the future of capital punishment, marking a slight increase compared with 14.9 percent who disagreed.
Meanwhile, 81.6 percent of respondents agreed that the legality of the death penalty should be decided by a referendum or the Legislative Yuan, while 72.6 percent of the respondents who later participated in discussions agreed with that statement, a slight decline, he said.
The numbers suggest that a majority of the public is against giving the Constitutional Court the mandate to decide on the death penalty, he said.
Chinese Association for Human Rights chairman Kao Su-po (高思博), a former KMT legislator, said that many Constitutional Court justices ruling on the matter are nearing the end of their terms.
They should focus on preserving the court’s credibility instead of using this decision as an opportunity to assert their personal morals or values, Kao said.
The survey and discussions show that people overwhelmingly support capital punishment and that its implementation is flawed and should be rectified, he said, adding that legislators should work on perfecting the justice system.
In 2009, the Legislative Yuan ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in a bipartisan vote, which then-president Ma signed into law.
The covenant stipulates that there is an “inherent right to life.”
Article 6 of the covenant concludes that “nothing in this article shall be invoked to delay or to prevent the abolition of capital punishment by any State Party to the present Covenant.”
‘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 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as