ASIA/TAIWAN - Cardinal Paul Shan tells Fides: “The Church is working to get the death penalty abolished in Taiwan and to promote full respect for life at eve level of society ”

Tuesday, 1 June 2004

Kaohsiung (Fides Service) - “We have called on the government to abolish the death penalty in Taiwan. Many times I have spoken with President Chen Shui-bian and the Minister of Justice making an explicit request for the law to be abolished immediately”. This was said by Cardinal Paul Shan, Archbishop of Kaohsiung, who was speaking to Fides about the work of formation and sensitisation undertaken by the Church in Taiwan in this field. “The civil authorities have said they are willing to consider the matter but that the law will have to be changed and this is a task for the National Congress. I believe we may see the law abolished within two years: the time necessary to replace the existing laws” the Cardinal told Fides.
“We have launched an awareness campaign among public opinion: many intellectuals have joined us while perhaps at the popular level people are less sensitive to the issue. We are working with Buddhists organisations and NGOs and so the pro-abolition front is growing. We think it is very important to introduce in Taiwan society respect for life from natural beginning to natural end” the Cardinal told Fides.
The local Church also organises conferences and debates to form consciences on the question of the capital punishment. Recently the John Paul II Institute for Peace at Fu Jen University near Taipei, organised a Seminar for Catholics, Buddhists and representatives of many different associations. The speakers at the Conference quoted texts demonstrating that the death penalty does not prevent crime and underlining the tragic possibility of executing a person who is innocent. According to a recent survey 70% of the people in Taiwan is in favour of capital punishment but the percentage falls to 40% when there is the alternative of life imprisonment.
According to Amnesty International, in 2003 in Taiwan seven prisoners were executed by lethal injection. In November 2003 the government announced the preparation of a draft bill to abolish the death penalty to be examined by the Taiwan National Congress.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 1/6/2004 lines 34 words 374)


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