Taiwan
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 1
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · In November 1997, the Parliament approved the death...
- News items in the archive
- 282
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Taiwan is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 1 the year before. The archive holds 282 news items on Taiwan, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
MARCH 25, 2009TaiwanDEATH PENALTYTAIWAN: ACTIVISTS URGE END OF DEATH PENALTY FOLLOWING REPORT
anti-capital punishment activists urged the government to follow the global trend and
- JANUARY 19, 2009TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN SHOULD ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY: BTCO
the top British representative in Taiwan said that an abolition of the death penalty in Taiwan could set the country apart from China and demonstrate to the world that it is a liberal democracy
- JANUARY 1, 2009TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
On January 8, 2002, Taiwan’s parliament abolished the Act for the Control and Punishment of Banditry...
On January 8, 2002, Taiwan’s parliament abolished the Act for the Control and Punishment of Banditry...
- NOVEMBER 30, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN: ALLIANCE AGAINST DEATH PENALTY FETES SUCCESSES
when local nongovernmental organisations in Taiwan teamed up to create an alliance against capital punishment five years ago, the implementation of the death penalty in Taiwan was still very secretive
- NOVEMBER 17, 2008ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA SENTENCES TWO TAIWANESE TO DEATH FO DRUG DEALING
a Chinese court sentenced two Taiwanese, convicted of trafficking heroin from Myanmar, to death.
- NOVEMBER 5, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN: FRENCH EXPERT URGES POLITICAL LEADERS TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY
in abolishing the death penalty, political leaders should take the responsibility of "leading the people" instead of following public opinion, as "they are elected to make the decision," a French anti-death penalty activist said in Taiwan
- OCTOBER 24, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN COURT GIVES FILIPINA TIME TO APPEAL DEATH SENTENCE
Taiwan’s Court of Appeals granted overseas Filipino worker Cecilia Armia Alcaraz, a.k.a. Nemencia Panaglima, sufficient time to appeal her death sentence, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
- OCTOBER 19, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
PHILIPPINES: GOVERNMENT APPEALS DEATH SENTENCE METED OUT ON PINAY IN TAIWAN
the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) appealed to the Taiwan courts in the case of Nemencia Armia, a Filipino woman convicted of murder and robbery and sentenced to death
- OCTOBER 11, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN 'IMPROVING' BUT CALL FOR ABOLITION
the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) said the country was "improving but not quite there" and urged its government to impose a moratorium on the death penalty.
- OCTOBER 10, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN. MORATORIUM ON DEATH PENALTY TO BE DISCUSSED
the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) in Taiwan, The French Institute in Taiwan, National
- OCTOBER 1, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
FILIPINO WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING TAIWANESE WOMAN FOR CASH
a Taiwanese court sentenced a Filipino woman to death for killing a Taiwan woman for money. The Kaohsiung District Court in southern Taiwan passed the sentence on Armia Menecia Panaglima, 39, in the killing of Chiu Mei-yun, 48, in Kaohsiung on September 1
- AUGUST 10, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN: PLAN TO PHASE OUT DEATH PENALTY OPPOSED
ruling Taiwanese Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers said that they oppose a Ministry of Justice plan to phase out the death penalty, claiming that a lack of capital punishment would increase the crime rate.
- JULY 11, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
a Vietnamese court sentenced two Taiwanese...
a Vietnamese court sentenced two Taiwanese...
- JUNE 24, 2008ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA EXECUTES THREE FOR DRUG DEALING
China executed three drug dealers and sentenced five more to death on
- JUNE 18, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
an anti-death penalty delegation lauded Taiwan...
an anti-death penalty delegation lauded Taiwan...
- JUNE 9, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN. HIGH COURT UPHOLDS TRIO'S SENTENCES AFTER DOUBLE MURDER
a man received two death sentences and his two accomplices were sentenced to
- MAY 21, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN. JUSTICE MINISTER BIDS TO SCRAP DEATH PENALTY
Taiwan's new Justice Minister Wang Ching-feng said she will attempt to
- MAY 16, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN. JUDICIARY DISAGREES ON DEATH PENALTY
in Taiwan, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the Judicial Yuan failed to reach a consensus
- MAY 1, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN: DEPRESSED MAN’S DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED TO LIFE
the Supreme Court in Taiwan commuted the death sentence of a motorist for killing his friend whom he had suspected of stealing NT$700 to life imprisonment.
- APRIL 25, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN. CABINET MEMBER AGAINST DEATH PENALTY
Taiwanese premier Liu Chao-shiuan recently announced a list of names that will
- MARCH 8, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN. MOJ SEEKS DEATH PENALTY AMENDMENTS
the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) in Taiwan said it is seeking to amend the law so
- JANUARY 1, 2008TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
On January 8, 2002, Taiwan’s parliament abolished the Act for the Control and Punishment of Banditry...
On January 8, 2002, Taiwan’s parliament abolished the Act for the Control and Punishment of Banditry...
- DECEMBER 10, 2007TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN HEARING TO APPEAL 'HSICHIH TRIO' DEATH PENALTY OPENS ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
a preliminary hearing opened at Taiwan's High Court in the ongoing "Hsichih Trio" murder case with the three defendants appealing to overturn the death penalty on grounds they were tortured by police until they confessed.
- NOVEMBER 19, 2007TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
FILIPINO WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING TAIWANESE WOMAN FOR CASH
a Taiwan prosecutor sentenced a Filipino woman to death for killing a Taiwanese woman for money.
- OCTOBER 15, 2007TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN HAS NOT EXECUTED ANYONE FOR TWO YEARS: PRESIDENT
Tawianese President Chen Shui-bian said that no death row convict has been executed in Taiwan for nearly two years and that he has always wanted the death penalty being phased out completely from the country.
- SEPTEMBER 7, 2007TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN: MOJ TO REVIEW CASES OF 25 INMATES FACING EXECUTION
the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) in Taiwan will carefully review cases involving 25 death row prisoners before deciding whether to execute them, a ministry official said
- AUGUST 31, 2007TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN: DEATH SENTENCE UPHELD FOR SIXTH TIME
the Taiwan High Court sentenced a man who killed a young woman by stabbing her 176 times with a watermelon knife to death.
- AUGUST 30, 2007TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE
the Supreme Court of Taiwan this month upheld the death sentence of gunman Shih Chih-yuan for killing two men in Tainan County in 2003.
- JUNE 30, 2007TaiwanDEATH PENALTY
TAIWAN COURT ORDERS DEATH PENALTY AFTER 16 YEARS
Taiwan's High Court ordered three convicted murderers to be executed in a 16 year old case criticised by Amnesty International.
- JUNE 25, 2007ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA EXECUTES THREE FOR DRUG DEALING
three men, including a foreigner, were executed in China's southeast Fujian Province for drug dealing.