Lü Cheng-yen's Remarks | Covenants at 40, Zero Torture: Immediately Pass the Enforcement Act of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and Its Optional Protocol

Torture is one of the most severe forms of state violence. Beyond individual factors, state violence often stems from systemic causes. To reduce state violence and torture, we must thoroughly examine the flaws within our law enforcement system.

For years, the unscientific and unreasonable performance evaluation demands within our police system have not only pushed frontline rank-and-file officers to the brink of exhaustion, but have even led some to take desperate risks and enforce the law through illegal means—actions that may violate the Convention against Torture. Looking back at recent, widely known incidents of excessive use of force by police, such occurrences show no signs of abating:

July 2023: A teenager in Changhua was suddenly arrested by plainclothes police simply because his appearance was mistaken for a runaway migrant worker, resulting in injuries that required 17 stitches;

September 2022: Sanchong police mistook a member of the public for a wanted fugitive, beating him and spraying him with pepper spray, causing multiple injuries. Even more absurdly, the victim was countersued for assault and was only acquitted by the court yesterday;

August 2021: A family caregiver who is a migrant worker in Sanchong, New Taipei City, was subjected to a random stop-and-search by police while taking out the trash and was handcuffed and taken to the police station. After finding no unlawful conduct, the police abandoned the migrant worker elsewhere, telling them to return home on their own. The police later confessed and paid compensation;

April 2021: Police in Chungli unlawfully stopped and searched a music teacher, executing a flying sweep ("da wai ge") and handcuffing her;

October 2019: Prison guards at Kaohsiung Prison led handymen (inmates assisting with prison operations) in abusing an inmate, brutally beating him to death.

Torture is the most covert and least visible facet of state violence. The Enforcement Act of the Convention against Torture can precisely bridge this gap, serving an educational, cautionary, and supervisory function for state law enforcement agents.

In light of this, we believe the Executive Yuan should swiftly submit the draft Enforcement Act of the Convention against Torture to complete our nation's human rights protections and put an end to all forms of state violence, including torture. Meanwhile, the recent frequent outbreaks of law enforcement chaos, coupled with worsening stress and workloads for police officers, further highlight the systemic issues within the police performance evaluation system. We once again call upon the National Police Agency to establish a "Police Special Projects and Performance Management Committee" to thoroughly review the police performance evaluation system and the issue of improper police law enforcement.