Taipei- Taiwan's
justice minister indicated Thursday she would not authorize executions despite a demand from the president that she do so in line with the law. The minister, Wang Ching-feng, has come under mounting calls from politicians and relatives of murder victims to resign after she recently pledged to work for the abolition of the death penalty.
The controversy prompted the Presidential Office to announce that Wang must abide by the law to sign execution papers before the death penalty is officially abolished in Taiwan.
But in a late night news conference, Wang suggested that she would not carry out any executions as she was seeking a review by the Council of the Grand Justices, keeper of Taiwan's constitution, to see if execution is in line with the spirit of the constitution and the international trend for abolition of death penalty.
"We urge the Council of Grand Justices to swiftly study the issue and make a final decision in line with the spirit of the constitution in order to end the dispute," Wang said in a statement.
She said since 2005 - three years before she took office - no executions have been carried out in Taiwan.
The former
human rights lawyer who took office in 2008 said she would refrain from signing papers approving executions of any of the 44 death-row prisoners as long as she remained in her post.
