17/01/2025 (Agence Europe) – In a press release issued by the European External Action Service (EEAS) on Thursday 16 January, the European Union reiterated its opposition to capital punishment following the announcement that Huang Lin-kai, convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend and her mother, would be executed in Taipei on the same day. Although the EU condemns this crime “in the strongest possible terms” and expresses “its sincere sympathy to the victims’ families”, it considers that the death penalty is an “inhumane and degrading punishment, which represents the ultimate denial of human dignity”. It points out that the death penalty has “little or no effect” in deterring or reducing crime. The EU therefore calls on Taiwan to apply and maintain a de facto moratorium and to pursue a consistent policy towards a full abolition of the death penalty in the country. (PLD)