Amnesty International Report 2004 - Taiwan

Covering events from January - December 2003

At least seven people were executed during 2003. Proposals for a National Human Rights Commission and an "anti-terrorism" bill were under consideration by the Legislative Yuan.

Background

Relations between Taiwan and China were strained after the Legislative Yuan approved a bill to hold a referendum on constitutional amendments dealing with sovereignty.

Death penalty

At least seven people were executed in 2003; executions were carried out by shooting, although lethal injection is legally permitted. A further six death sentences were approved by the Supreme Court.

Debate continued within the government and the Legislative Yuan about the introduction of life imprisonment without parole as one of the measures towards the eventual abolition of the death penalty. However, no moves were made to introduce a moratorium on executions during 2003.

• Hsu Tzu-chiang remained in danger of imminent execution. He had been convicted of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in April 2000 on the basis of testimony from two alleged accomplices, one of whom provided a signed statement retracting his testimony and stating that Hsu Tzu-chiang had not been involved with the crime.

• In October, Liu Bing-lang, Su Chien-ho and Chuang Lin-hsun returned to the High Court for their 10th trial on the same charges. The case against the three was based almost entirely on their confessions which were allegedly extracted under torture.

There were also allegations of extensive irregularities in the investigative process, including unlawful detentions. The three men all described being beaten and having water or urine forced into their mouths. Su Chien-ho and Chuan Lin-hsun also alleged that they were subjected to electric shocks to their genitals.

The three men were acquitted by the High Court in January, but in August the Supreme Court overturned the acquittal and ordered the case to be returned to the High Court yet again. At the time of their successful appeal in January the three men had already spent more than seven years on death row.

Legislative developments

In November, the Cabinet proposed a draft "anti-terrorism" law which provides for the death penalty for "terrorist" acts causing loss of life, and establishes penalties for participation in or assistance to "terrorist" groups or activities, which are reportedly vaguely defined.

In September the Cabinet began drafting a Human Rights Law, in order to incorporate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights into domestic law. In November, an expert mission from the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) visited Taiwan and commended articles in the draft law which go beyond the requirement of the two Covenants, including those on protecting and promoting the rights of indigenous peoples; same-sex marriages; the right to asylum, nationality and property; and the right of access to the media. The ICJ strongly recommended that the law be given constitutional or quasi-constitutional status.

The draft law included provisions for the gradual abolition of the death penalty but did not call for the complete, immediate and unconditional abolition of the death penalty.

In January, Legislative Yuan members adopted 136 amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure. Among the changes which were adopted were requirements that law enforcement officers clearly inform suspects at the time of their arrest that they have the rights to remain silent and to a lawyer of their choice and that at least two law enforcement officers, including a prosecutor or police officer, be present during interviews of suspects.

Refugees

Taiwan lacked any legal framework for accepting or processing applications for asylum. A draft law on refugees was announced in August, but had not been approved by the Cabinet by the end of the year.