Singer slams abolishing death penalty China Post, Feb 2, 2010
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Ministry of Justice will continue the policy of gradually phasing out capital punishment despite the overwhelming popular opposition to the abolition of the death penalty in Taiwan, according to Minister of Justice, Wang Ching-feng.
Minister Wang announced the government policy at a meeting with reporters yesterday.
Capital punishment to be abolished gradually: Wang By Shelley Huang, STAFF REPORTER Taipei Times, Tuesday, Feb 02, 2010, Page 3
Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) said yesterday the ministry would take gradual steps toward abolishing the death penalty, but denied reports saying it would be done by November next year.
Death penalty abolished only after public consensus: Justice Minister "A majority of people in Taiwan oppose the policy, but international data shows that the existence of the death penalty and the level of crime in a country were unrelated".
~ Book review of Staving off the Executioner: Taiwan’s Unofficial Moratorium
Celia Llopis-Jepsen
Editor, Taipei Times
In December 2006, a Taiwanese death row inmate named Chong De-shu came within days, perhaps hours, of being executed. The dramatic series of events that saved his life marked the start of Taiwan’s unofficial moratorium on the death penalty. Today, Taiwan has not carried out any executions since late 2005.
Staving off the Executioner: Taiwan’s Unofficial Moratorium tells the story — in both English and Chinese — of how Chong’s execution was stopped against all odds by Taiwanese lawyers and NGO workers who barely thought it was possible, but were not willing to give up. It is an inspiration for abolitionists everywhere who may feel they face insurmountable obstacles.
In Taiwan, criminal cases can go on indefinitely and defendants can be detained for years, even decades, on end. A proposed speedy and fair trial law aims to tackle the problem — but critics say it would only make the situation worse
By Celia Llopis-Jepsen
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Jan 03, 2010, Page 13, TAIPEI TIMES
Justice Minister Keiko Chiba(千葉景子)had a rare meeting Wednesday with members of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations who are seeking a moratorium on executions until proper measures are taken to prevent wrongful convictions.
Hsu Tzu-chiang has been sentenced to death eight times over the past 14 years in a case human rights lawyers say is a textbook example of what’s wrong with the death penalty system in Taiwan. Celia Llopis-Jepsen spoke with him for 20 minutes at the Taipei Detention Center on Friday
By Celia Llopis-jepsen, STAFF REPORTER Taipei Times, Sunday, Dec 20, 2009, Page 13
On the street outside Taipei Detention Center are small food stalls selling large dishes of food. Full meals, not snacks. The dishes aren’t for passersby; they’re for inmates. Family and friends can bring a meal to the people they visit.
Kansas will consider abolishing the death penalty next year as death sentences are declining across the United States.
Fewer people were sentenced to death this year than any other year since 1976, according to a report released Friday by the Death Penalty Information Center.
Monday’s forum on the death penalty was eclipsed by a series of cross-strait forums and meetings, an unexpected memorandum of understanding and the continued warnings of mad-cow fearmongers. Unlike cross-strait relations, the economy and even US beef, the debate over capital punishment offers scant political currency for either political camp.
That is both a curse and a blessing for the anti-death penalty movement.
