Taiwan carried out its first execution in five years, triggering reaction from both human rights groups and international agencies like European Union.
On Thursday, a 32-year-old Huang Lin-Kai was executed for 2013 murder of his ex-girlfriend and her mother, as per Taiwan’s Justice Minister, he also raped his ex-partner, reported by Reuters.
Huang was convicted in 2017, and was shot to death on January 16, 2025, the officials called his crimes "obviously inhumane and extremely vicious."
The ministry revealed that Huang’s death meets the criteria of capital punishment proposed in September, which noted that the execution will only be given to criminals with most serious crimes.
Even though Taiwan holds the reputation being the most liberal Asian country, majority of the public favours death penalty, though under de facto moratorium, it only happens on rare occasions.
The EU’s rep urged the island to completely abolish execution, "calls on Taiwan to apply and maintain a de facto moratorium, and to pursue a consistent policy towards the full abolition of the death penalty in Taiwan."
Along with that the rights groups of the country are against the capital punishment calling the latest practice "shocking and brutal development."
Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty also issued a joint statement with other rights groups, said that execution would "only make the society more bloodthirsty."
The statement led to their Facebook page being bombarded with comments from netizens supporting the death penalty.
