Taiwan Executes Huang Lin-kai by Firing Squad, First Death Penalty in Five Years Under Lai Ching-te

Jan 17, 2025, 08:04 AM

Taiwan has executed Huang Lin-kai, marking the first use of the death penalty in the country in nearly five years. The 32-year-old was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend and her mother in 2013, and was executed by a firing squad at the Taipei Detention Centre. The execution, the first under the administration of President Lai Ching-te, who assumed office in May 2024, has drawn criticism from the European Union and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, which described it as a 'shocking and cruel development' and a setback for human rights in Taiwan. The EU has called on Taiwan to maintain its de facto moratorium on the death penalty and work towards its full abolition. Taiwan's Justice Ministry justified the execution, stating that Huang's crimes were 'obviously inhumane and extremely vicious.'