The European Parliament has expressed great concern over the execution of five prisoners in Taiwan on March 4th, and with a possibility of canceling Taiwan's EU visa-waiver, they are calling on the Taiwanese government to reinstate the moratorium on death penalty.

In response to the situation, Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu said they will submit a statement to explain to the EU Parliament about Taiwan's regulations in carrying out the capital punishment and its plan to gradually abolish it.

The EU condemns the recent executions of five death row inmates last week in Taiwan, which may affect the visa-waiver program.

Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu was questioned in the legislative hearing on how the ministry is to deal with the concerns.

While the Ministry of Justice expressed its stance to perform according to the law, it will prepare position papers to explain the cultural legacy behind the implementation of the death penalty and the country's effort to gradually abolish capital punishment.

The papers would be handed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to brief to the EU.

However, some legislators believe the ministry should carry out the executions on the rest 40 death row inmates, which shouldn't be delayed for another year.

This worries the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, as it believes further executions would draw more opposition from the international community.

While Ministry of Justice says it is under no pressure in deciding the next executions, it doesn't have a specific timeline in place.

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