The debate over the death penalty, which is always in the background in Taiwan, is occasionally thrust to the fore.
The Chinese-language United Daily News on Feb. 13 published a report headlined “Death penalty convictions and executions reduced to zero last year, a virtual abolition of the death penalty.”
Following the high-profile cases of Tseng Wen-yan (曾文彥) and Chen Po-chien (陳伯謙), whose death sentences were commuted to life in prison, Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) said he respected that courts decide on a case-by-case basis.
Regarding the 38 inmates awaiting execution, he said: “There is no deliberate procrastination, we are