Executions remain at a high level in Taiwan: in 1990 a record 78 people were executed, compared to 69 in 1989. The Government of Taiwan justifies the retention of the death penalty on the grounds that it is necessary to combat violent crime (which has increased alarmingly). Amnesty International does not believe capital punishment to be a more effective deterrent to crime than other sentences; this belief is corroborated by a report issued by the United Nations in 1989 and by the increase in violent crime in Taiwan despite the greatly increased use of the death penalty. AI is also concerned about the possibility of wrongful conviction: the case of Chang Kuo-chieh, acquitted of a murder in 1982, is cited in this context.
