Taipei, May 21 (CNA) Minister of Justice Tseng Yong-fu met with an anti-death penalty group for the first time Friday to discuss capital punishment, which has become a hot-button issue since Taiwan's execution of four death-row prisoners last month.
The group and the minister both agreed that while Taiwan's ultimate goal is to abolish the death penalty, it would require collaborative efforts over time to convince the public, Wu Chih-kuang, deputy convener of Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP), told the media after the 90-minute meeting.
According to Wu, the group thinks that a moratorium on executions is an important step toward abolition of the death penalty, and that it should be implemented while the public discussion is in progress, Wu said.
However, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) did not specify whether it would consider the suggestion, he said.
Before the closed-door meeting, Tseng said the ministry realizes that abolition of capital punishment is one of the country's goals, but knows it would be a long process.
Taiwan executed four of the 44 prisoners on row April 30, five weeks after former Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng resigned amid a political storm sparked by her statement that she would not sign any death warrants during her term.
The TAEDP has petitioned the Justices of Constitutional Court, on behalf of the remaining 40 inmates, for a Constitutional ruling.
Asked whether there will be more executions in the future, Wu said Tseng has told the group that the MOJ will respect the Constitutional Court's decision on those cases, but will not set a timetable for abolition of the death penalty.
Nonetheless, the minister promised to speed up the work of a special task force, which comprises scholars, civil groups and officials, to forge consensus on the issue, Wu said.
The alliance is pleased to know that the MOJ will actively support the task force, said Lin Hsin-yi, executive director of the TAEDP.
However, transparency will be very important during the process, she said.
"The more people know, the easier it will be to forge consensus and to communicate, " she said. "The same applies to every major policy and social issue." (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc