• By Liu Wan-lin and Sam Garcia / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The majority of Taiwanese oppose the abolition of the death penalty and believe that such a decision should be taken through a referendum, a survey published yesterday showed.

More than 80 percent of respondents to the survey, conducted by a new think tank founded by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), said they opposed the abolition of the death penalty and a Constitutional Court ruling on capital punishment.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents said the Constitution should be amended to limit the court’s power, while 65.8% said a public referendum on the death penalty should be held in 2026.

Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

In September, the Constitutional Court ruled that while the death penalty is constitutional, it should only be applied in “exceptional” cases.

KMT lawmakers criticized the decision, saying it “effectively abolished capital punishment in Taiwan.”

The poll showed most Taiwanese want a referendum on capital punishment to be held alongside the 2026 general election, Lo told a news conference yesterday.

“More than 80 percent of people do not agree with the decision of the Constitutional Court on capital punishment. Judges should reflect on why their public support has declined recently,” he said.

Since a decision by the Constitutional Court cannot be overturned, the Taiwanese want a referendum on the issue, he said.

The fact that 57 percent of Taiwanese believe the Constitution should be amended to limit the power of the Constitutional Court suggests that recent rulings by judges are not in line with public opinion, KMT lawmaker Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) said.

“The public feels that their rights have been violated by the judges’ ruling on the death penalty… When judges go against the will of the people, direct democracy and public opinion should be exercised,” KMT Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) a said.

People cannot accept that judges have directed the legislature to amend the law according to their rulings, added KMT Legislator Ye Yuan-zhi (葉元之).

Even among survey respondents who self-identified as supporters of the pan-green camp, there is significant agreement on these issues, putting enormous pressure on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, the Chinese Culture University professor said , Niu Tse-hsun (鈕則勳).

“The ruling party and the Central Election Commission should respect the will of the people and respond to their demands for a referendum on the death penalty,” he said.

Apollo Survey and Research Co conducted the survey between Oct. 14 and Oct. 17 among Taiwanese aged 18 and over by telephone. The poll had 1,081 valid samples and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.