TAIWAN

There were continuing reports of police ill-treatment, despite legislative amendments strengthening human rights protection of detainees. There were at least 32 executions, continuing a trend of increased use of the death penalty.

In December the ruling Kuomintang, led by President Lee Teng-hui, won a majority of seats in elections to the Legislative Yuan (the main law-making body).

A major revision to the code of criminal procedure adopted in late December 1997 took effect in 1998. The new code strengthened human rights protection by obliging prosecutors and police to release suspects within 24 hours unless a warrant is obtained from a court. It also stipulated that suspects be informed of their right to remain silent and that lawyers may be present during interrogation. Overnight interrogation is prohibited, except in certain circumstances. In January the Council of Grand Justices (CGJ) – a constitutional tribunal – ruled unconstitutional articles in the Assembly and Parade Law which ban advocacy of independence or communism.

In June Cheng Chung-mo was appointed Minister of Justice. The new Minister said he would take a "pragmatic" approach to the death penalty. He also stated that he did not support the doctrine of "severe punishments under strict laws" which calls for longer prison sentences, increased use of the death penalty and a reduction in the rights of suspects and defendants. The previous Minister of Justice had dropped earlier plans to reintroduce whipping as a punishment for certain criminal offences committed by juveniles (see Amnesty International Report 1998).

In September the government announced that it was planning to introduce a civilian alternative to compulsory military service, but by the end of the year legislation and regulations regarding compulsory military service remained unchanged.

The government drew up draft proposals for amendments to the law governing military tribunals, following the 1997 ruling by the CGJ that several aspects of the law were unconstitutional (see Amnesty International Report 1998). There were concerns that the draft amendments would fall short of the constitutional criteria set down by the CGJ.

In a ruling in September the Supreme Court awarded 10 million New Taiwan dollars (around US$300,000) compensation to seven people who had been wrongfully imprisoned on sedition charges in the early 1950s, overturning a previous government decision. The victims, including Chen Tsu-hung and Lu Tung-po, had been held for up to one year for alleged activities to overthrow the government. The government had refused their claim on the grounds that official documents about their cases had been misplaced.

Human rights groups continued to record instances of police ill-treatment, mostly in local police stations when interrogations were not recorded and lawyers were not present. Conditions of detention in some police stations were reported to be below minimum international standards. Two foreign nationals held in police detention for two weeks in March said they had been handcuffed and chained together and refused permission to go to the toilet during the first night of detention. Thereafter, they were reportedly held in dirty, cramped cells and refused permission to make a telephone call.

At least 32 people were executed. The executions continued the trend of increased use of the death penalty, apparently in response to public concern about crime rates. The death penalty is mandatory for 65 offences and optional for a further 95 offences. The criminal code allows for executions by shooting or lethal injection, although no lethal injection execution has been carried out to date. The practice of continuously shackling the hands and feet of prisoners sentenced to death continued.

Su Chien-ho, Liu Bin-lang and Chuang Lin-hsuing, who were sentenced to death in 1991 for murder despite strong indications that they were innocent, remained at imminent threat of execution having exhausted all avenues of appeal (see Amnesty International Reports 1996 to 1998).

The authorities were reported to have continued an informal policy of transferring refugees to third countries: Taiwan has no law or set of procedures under which non-citizens may apply for political asylum. Those awaiting "deportation" were generally detained, sometimes for long periods. Illegal immigrants from the People's Republic of China continued to be regularly detained in immigration detention centres before deportation, sometimes for many months in conditions that were often overcrowded.

In June an Amnesty International delegate visited Taiwan to discuss human rights concerns with President Lee Teng-hui and senior government ministers. The same month Amnesty International published a report, Death sentences based on unfair convictions: three men face execution, which called for a full and impartial investigation into the convictions of Su Chien-ho, Liu Bin-lang and Chuang Lin-hsuing and for their death sentences to be commuted. Amnesty International continued to call for the abolition of the death penalty and urged the government to establish a national human rights commission.

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