Legislators today questioned Judicial Yuan presidential nominee Chang Wen-chen (張文貞) on her views about the death penalty.
Chang, a National Taiwan University law professor, was nominated as the new president of the Judicial Yuan by President William Lai (賴清德) in August.
Chang said that she would respect the ruling of the Constitutional Court that the death penalty is constitutional.
Photo: Lo Pei-te, Taipei Times
The court ruled on Sep. 20 against abolishing the death penalty, but limited the scope of its enforcement, stating that life is a constitutional right that cannot be abused, and as such the death penalty could only be enforced for the most serious of crimes.
Asked if she supported the abolition of the death penalty by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), Chang said that the ruling of the court was to implement stricter conditions on its implementation and enforcement, but does not mean that the death penalty would not be enacted.
Chang stressed to Yang and KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) that any politician holding the highest judicial role in the nation may only take the position of upholding the Constitution.
Yang asked whether the latest ruling means that the death penalty has effectively been abolished, as has been widely speculated, to which Chang said that many overlooked the opening sentence of ruling that the death penalty is constitutional.
Chang said that she believes the death penalty’s constitutionality is not currently the most pressing matter in Taiwan, with many other issues concerning judicial reform across sectors from transportation to healthcare requiring the attention of legislators.
Yang asked Chang if she would push for the complete abolition of the death penalty upon assuming the role, to which she said this is a common misconception and she must respect the Constitution first and foremost.
‘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
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
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
RSS