Disappointing result in Taiwanese death penalty row

 On the same day that Taiwan’s Justice Minister Wang Ching-feng boldly denounced the death penalty, the Presidential Office released a statement assuring the public that Wang must abide by the law regardless of her views. 

Wang had said she would rather resign than execute any of the 44 inmates on Taiwan’s death row. In an angry backlash, lawmakers accused her of violating the rule of law enshrined in the state’s constitution, and insisted that she could not refuse to sign orders to execute prisoners already condemned to death. 

Amid calls for Wang’s immediate resignation, the Minister stood firm, warning that the country would, ‘become an international laughing stock’ if they forced her out, and insisting that “despite all the pressure, I will still go ahead and do the right thing.” 

Much to the disappointment of the international community, an opinion poll published the next day suggested that three-quarters of the Taiwanese public supported capital punishment. Wang then resigned as Minister with the approval of both President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih. 

A sad twist came with the appointment of new Justice Minister Tseng Yung-fu, who immediately decided to review all death row prisoners’ cases. It is now feared that the ministry intends to execute some convicted prisoners to secure the public vote. 

Tseng was also quoted as stating that the executions would not violate two UN human rights conventions to which Taiwan was a signatory and which oblige signatories to reduce the number of executions.