DEATH PENALTY In September, the Supreme Administrative The death penalty remained in force for Court revoked the extension of the Asia many offences. The authorities disclosed little Cement Corporation’s mining permit in information about death sentences passed Taroko people’s traditional territory. After and rarely provided information on litigation lasting four years, the court found executions. However, on 21 October, the that the Taroko people living near to the Ministry of Justice announced the execution mining site had not been adequately of people accused of involvement in igniting consulted on the project. However, concerns the wildfires that ravaged Syria in 2020. remained that existing legislation provided inadequate protection for Indigenous peoples 1. “Syria: Government must lift deadly siege of Daraa al-Balad and against mining and other commercial activities. Among the problems was Article 13 allow humanitarian aid to flow”, 27 August 2. “Syria: Russian threat to veto renewal of last aid corridor leaves of the Mining Act, under which existing mining permits remained valid and mining millions at risk of humanitarian catastrophe”, 25 June 3. Syria: “You’re Going to Your Death”: Violations Against Syrian could continue while mining companies Refugees Returning to Syria (Index: MDE 24/4583/2021), 7 applied for permit extensions.1 September LGBTI PEOPLE’S RIGHTS The Taipei High Administrative Court issued a TAIWAN judgment in May on transnational same-sex marriage that allowed a Taiwan-Macau same- Taiwan sex couple to marry in Taiwan. However, the Head of state: Tsai Ing-wen judgment only applied to same-sex couples Head of government: Su Tseng-chang where the Macau citizen is a long-term resident of Taiwan. In the meantime, the Certain restrictions on Indigenous peoples’ Ministry of Interior’s interpretation of the hunting rights were found to be relevant article in the Act Governing the unconstitutional. Legal protection for Choice of Law in Civil Matters Involving Indigenous peoples remained inadequate, Foreign Elements remained valid. Under this including against mining and other interpretation, transnational same-sex commercial operations. Despite a court marriage between Taiwanese citizens and ruling permitting the marriage of a Taiwan- foreigners was only permitted where the Macau same-sex couple, limitations on spouse was from a country where same-sex 2 same-sex marriage remained in place. unions had been legalized. Covid-19 orders discriminated against migrant workers. MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS In June, following an outbreak of Covid-19 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS cases among migrant workers, the Miaoli In May, the Constitutional Court ruled that the County government issued an order confining Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives all migrant workers in the county to their Act and the Wildlife Conservation Act were dormitory buildings except during working partly unconstitutional as they hours. The order, which affected more than disproportionately restricted the cultural and 22,000 people, discriminated against migrant hunting rights of Indigenous peoples. workers by severely limiting their freedom of 3 However, the court found that other movement. It was lifted after three weeks. restrictions on hunting were constitutional, DEATH PENALTY such as the requirement that Indigenous people obtain approval from the authorities In September, the Prosecutor-General made days before any hunting activities. an extraordinary appeal against a court decision not to sentence convicted arsonist Amnesty International Report 2021/22 357