Capital punishment in the Republic of China
Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment in Taiwan, officially the Republic of China. Before 2000, Taiwan had a relatively high execution rate when strict laws were still in effect in the harsh political environment. However, after controversial cases during the 1990s and the changing attitudes of some officials towards abolition, the number of executions dropped significantly, with only three in 2005 and none between 2006–09. Executions resumed in 2010. However, according to the poll numbers, more than 80% of the Taiwanese people support to maintain the use of capital punishment.
The (陸海空軍刑法) rules the following crimes eligible for the death penalty on military personnel:
The Republic of China Criminal Code () rules the following offenses eligible for the death penalty, although none of them carries a mandatory death penalty:
Article 63 of the Criminal Code also rules that the death penalty cannot be imposed on offenders aged under 18 or above 80 for any offenses.
Other special laws which rule non-compulsory capital offenses:
In practice, since 2003, almost all death sentences and executions have been restricted to murder-related offenses. The last execution solely for crimes other than homicide took place in October 2002 in the case of a Pingtung County fisherman who trafficked 295 kg heroin in 1993.
The following two laws previously gave certain offenses a mandatory death penalty and have historically made a significant contribution to the numbers of people executed:
A ROC judicial execution requires a final sentence from the Supreme Court of the Republic of China and a death order signed by the Minister of Justice. After the Supreme Court issues a final death sentence, the case is transferred to the Ministry of Justice, where the Minister of Justice issues a final secret execution date. Generally, the Ministry of Justice will allow some time for the condemned person to meet his or her family, arrange for any religious rites and even get married before the execution. Should any new evidence or procedural flaw that may influence the verdict be discovered during this period, the condemned prisoner may make a plea to the Ministry of Justice. This may then delay the death warrant, if the Solicitor General or Supreme Prosecutors' Office makes a special appeal to the Supreme Court for retrial. However, such cases are very rare: to date only one condemned prisoner avoided capital punishment in this manner. The President of Republic of China can also award clemency, but so far only President Chiang Kai-shek ever exercised this legal right on an individual prisoner, once in 1957. President Lee Teng-hui also ordered two nationwide commutations in 1988 and 1991 in which two sentences were commuted from death to life imprisonment.
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