No, your eyes don't deceive you. The above shot was taken at GTV studios in Neihu, Taipei on Saturday night as Eva and I participated in a TV show screening by PTS. The discussion show is apparently quite popular and hosted by a former news anchor who has such an exaggerated Beijing accent that it almost seems contrived. Here we are ready to take our seats on the anti-death penalty side (nos. 16 & 17). The discussion was interesting but filled with bizarre comments. For example, one DPP legislator said that if we don't have the death penalty then perhaps we could inject killers with a substance to turn them into a vegetative state. Another person suggested offshore islands and work camps. Naturally, the loudest side was the pro-death penalty camp. Eva made a comment or two but I kept my hand down assuming that they would ask me for a comparative example from the UK. They didn't. I guess they thought my Taiwan-guo-yu was a little too rough around the edges. For my part, I was too scared to make a point without fully and clearly understanding what the last person had said. In the end I kept quiet even though I wanted to make point about the lessons to be learned from the white terror period. In a quick debate in class, my students today came up with many of the standard arguments to keep the death penalty but when I mentioned the white terror period and the risk of abuse and making a mistake they fell fairly quiet - even though they had the language advantage. Tonight I clicked on a news item in which the President gave his opinions:Ma stated that ``the abolition of the death penalty is still our policy, but there are still some difficulties.``
The president said he agreed to the resignation of former justice minister Wang Ching-feng, who resigned over her public refusal to sign orders for the execution of death sentences, because Wang ``could not serve both her conscience and perform her duties.``
Ma said that Taiwan governments have already taken actions to give judges more alternatives to imposing the death penalty by eliminating mandatory death penalties for some crimes, imposing stiffer penalties for serious offenses and lifting the floor for consideration of release of convicts given life sentences from 20 to 25 years.
The president also said he hoped that the Judicial Yuan would consider additional measures, such as requiring unanimous support from judges on a death penalty.
However, Ma rejected the notion that Taiwan should consider ``international pressure`` to maintain its current four year tacit moratorium on executions.
On March 18, the London-based Amnesty International publically expressed its ``distress`` over Wang`s resignation over the death penalty and called on Ma to ``ensure that Taiwan remains firm in reaching for its stated goal of abolition of the death penalty`` and ``not to waiver from`` assurances given the prestigious human rights organization in June 2008 ``Taiwan`s de facto moratorium would remain in place``
``What is `international`?`` Ma asked, evidently rhetorically.
While acknowledging that all European, democratic nations and two thirds of the world`s nations have either abolished the death sentence or are respecting a moratorium on executions, Ma emphasized that ``we can still see major countries, such as the United States and Japan, still have the death penalty and that even the governor of New York State restored the death penalty.``
``No country can ignore public feelings,`` said Ma.
``The correct policy is to gradually reduce the use of the death penalty and this is already been done,`` said the president, who expressed his hope that new Justice Minister Tseng Yung-fu ``will do his work well and see both sides of the issue.``
Thanks again USA and Japan for leading the world by your example. Ma is right to set a policy of abolishing the death penalty but I fear that it is just anther electioneering promise rather than a substantive intention. As for his 'what is international' ... I think that really sums up Ma's 'modus vivendi' or as I like to call it, 'modus dissapearus'. Think of the remaining 44 convicted persons sentenced to death, at least some of whom are almost certainly either not guilty or at least not deserving a death penalty. I guess we will now see the new Minister of Justice Tseng carry out a few executions to calm the issue before the year end elections so the process can get back to 'normal' for the remaining prisoners. Once again, thanks former Minister Wang for your oh so principled stand on the death penalty that was utterly unnecessary and ill-timed - and one that might have got you into heaven but which will likely result in the deaths of a few more prisoners than would have been the case had you kept your mouth shut. I still think though that this whole issue has been divertisement par excellence (anyone for a nice and complex social issue that cleaves across partisan lines and will take ECFA off the front pages?.)
