Statement by the Spokesperson on the recent execution in Taiwan

The execution in Taiwan of Mr Li Hung-chi ends the moratorium on the application of the death penalty that had de facto been in place since May 2016.

The European Union expresses its sincere sympathy to the family and friends of the victims of the crimes committed. At the same time, the European Union is unequivocally opposed to the use of capital punishment. It is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity.

In the first EU-Taiwan Human Rights Consultations, held in March 2018, the participants had discussed the merits of holding a broad public debate regarding capital punishment, taking into account its decline worldwide, and accelerating the work of the task force on the death penalty in Taiwan. In addition to these steps, the European Union looks to the Taiwanese authorities to immediately reintroduce a moratorium on the death penalty, as recommended by international experts in March 2013, as a first step to its total abolition.