Taiwanese political party Kuomintang’s (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih has stated that he is against the abolishment of the death penalty.

Hou made the comments during a televised presidential debate on Dec. 30, 2023, according to Taiwanese news outlets Central News Agency and Focus Taiwan.

The other two presidential candidates are the Taiwan People's Party's (TPP) Ko Wen-je, along with the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Lai Ching-te. Neither candidate shared Hou's stance.

The Taiwan presidential elections will take place on Jan. 13, 2024.

Hou claimed that 80 per cent of Taiwanese support the death penalty, according to Focus Taiwan.

While the data source was not mentioned, a 2022 poll according to Taipei Times reported that almost 87 per cent of respondents opposed the abolition of capital punishment in Taiwan.

Hou reiterated his point in a Jan. 4 Facebook post, where he stated: "I once stood at the frontlines of law enforcement, and have interacted with the family members of victims. I've seen the pain [they go through] and I understand it (...) When did our government start protecting the assailants, causing yet another degree of hurt to the victims and their families?"

"Last line of defence against crime": Hou

“I oppose lifting the death penalty, as it remains the last line of defence against crime,” Hou was quoted as saying by Taipei Times on Jan. 5.

Hou said that there were 33 executions under the previous KMT government, according to TVBS.

By contrast, he added that the current DPP administration had two executions.

Hou claimed that the DPP is “against the death penalty and intends to replace it" by not executing those who are on death row.

Abolition of death penalty needs high degree of public support: Lai

During the presidential debate, Lai claimed that he understood the public's desire to not abolish capital punishment, according to Focus Taiwan.

However, he added that capital punishment is a sensitive issue in any country, and abolishing it would require a high degree of support from the public.

He argued that Taiwan has written two global covenants into its domestic laws, which encourage "extra discretion" to be exercised when making decisions on whether to carry out the death penalty.

They are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.

The former covenant says death penalty "may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law".

Lai concluded that the need for the death penalty is an issue which requires further discussion.

Taiwan's death penalty

An Aug. 14 report by Focus Taiwan stated that Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice cannot execute any of the 38 death row prisoners, as they have separate petitions pending before the Constitutional Court.

On the same day, Taiwanese news outlet Mirror Media reported that Hou would "resume executions in accordance with the law" if elected president.

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