The issue of capital punishment has sparked some of the most heated debates around the world, from whether it actually is a deterrent for criminals to whether it is a violation of human rights. The issue came into the spotlight again in Taiwan this past year.

A 10-year-old boy’s throat was slit in the bathroom of a gaming arcade this past November. The alleged murderer, Tseng Wen-chin, had lured the boy into the bathroom of the arcade on the pretense of giving the boy valuable gaming cards. Prosecutors claim that Tseng then remorselessly slit the boy’s throat, and he died almost immediately. In the same day of the criminal’s arrest, Tseng revealed that his guaranteed prison sentence for his grisly murder was the solution for his long-term unemployment. In a prison, he said he would at least be fed, clothed, and sheltered for the rest of his life. Tseng reportedly claimed that Taiwan’s justice system could not sentence him to death with only a “murder or two." His reasoning stunned contemporary Taiwanese society and, more importantly, reignited debates in Taiwan over the Ministry of Justice’s approach to capital punishment.

Public surveys have found that nearly 80% of the citizens in Taiwan favor keeping the death penalty. Subsequently, pressure has been mounting on Ma’s administration to continue capital punishment especially after this young boy’s senseless killing. Some citizens even went on protesting outside the Ministry of Justice in the beginning of December, clamoring for the execution of the nation’s remaining 61 death row inmates. Angela Wang, head of a child welfare promotion association, said that “As the government has not carried out any executions in almost two years, some criminals are getting the impression that they can avoid the death sentence even if they commit murder. [Therefore], we demand that the government abide by the law and enforce capital punishment to maintain law and order in our society.”

However, the recent execution of six convicts this past December who had been handed death sentences have European Union officials to Amnesty International claiming foul play. EU representative to Taiwan Frederic Laplanche has been pushing for the abolition of the death penalty in Taiwan, saying that “[it] is a universal issue in the human rights that the EU wishes all countries to observe for their own good.” The Taiwanese Ministry of Justice itself has been reluctant to carry out executions as well. Taiwan, having recently had a moratorium on the death penalty from 2006 to 2009, has only executed nine people since 2010 compared to an astonishing 46 between 2000 and 2005. Even more disturbingly, there are often errors within Taiwan’s death penalty system. In June 2012, the government admitted that a Taiwanese soldier executed for rape and murder in 1997 was innocent and was actually tortured into confessing the crimes. Despite this revelation, judges are still handing out sentences with less than concrete evidence today. There are also worries that more wrongful executions could happen today.


So what’s Taiwan’s real stance on capital punishment? Taiwanese government officials have been either wary to establish a clear stance on the death penalty or simply indecisive. Former justice minister Wang Ching-feng resigned a day after making an impassioned speech on keeping the death penalty, while her successor Mr. Tseng Yung-fu promptly ordered four people to be executed the year he took office, allowing criminals like Tseng Wen-chin to take advantage of Taiwan’s unclear viewpoint on the death penalty. Tseng’s professed motive further illustrates the contradictions within the Taiwanese government. Judges and courts have actually handed down capital punishment sentences, but politicians have prevented these sentences from being carried out.

It may be too hard to tell right now what Taiwan’s real stance is, but one thing is clear. The Taiwanese government needs to prevent such cases from happening again. The legislative and executive branches of the government must decide once and for all whether to uphold the penalty or not. Taiwan’s government has said that it “wants to eventually abolish the death penalty, but not until it can convince the public”. But with death penalty approval ratings at almost 80%, abolition doesn't seem very likely. However, the Taiwanese government doesn't seem to recognize the fact that other governments have successfully stopped implementation of the death penalty while public opinion said otherwise.

Generally speaking, Taiwan’s human rights record is a relatively clean one, good among the areas of democracy and freedom of expression, but Taiwan is still being criticized by the European Union for maintaining the death penalty. By getting rid of the death penalty once and for all, the Taiwanese government could further improve its human rights track record, prevent senseless murders like Tseng’s, and show the the world that Taiwan really is striving to uphold its values of democracy at all costs. Whichever path the Taiwanese government takes, this problem should be resolved as soon as possible.