TAIWAN: DEATH PENALTY ABOLISHED ONLY AFTER PUBLIC CONSENSUS - JUSTICE MINISTER

Taiwan will gradually push for the abolition of the death penalty after a consensus is formed, Justice Minister Wang Ching-feng said. Wang said she had been set on abolishing the death penalty from before she took office in May 2008 but will wait for public opinion to change.
Reports said the replacement of the penalty with a life sentence could occur in 2011.
A ministry taskforce would collect opinions for and against from experts in order to find a positive way to allay public fears and concerns, Wang said.
"I'm not mentioning the abolition of the death penalty today and pushing it immediately," she said.
Taiwan had 44 prisoners on death row, but none of those had been executed yet, according to Wang.