MOFA officials made the remarks shortly after Laima Lijcija Andrikiene, an EU parliamentarian, said during a recent visit to Taiwan that although Taiwan's seeking of Schengen visa-free treatment — at present consisting of 25 European countries — is not directly related to the death penalty, some EU parliamentarian could use the issue to affect the outcome of a decision on whether or not to grant visa waivers.

James K. J. Lee, deputy director-general of MOFA's Department of European Affairs, said the European Commission could propose to revise related regulations either this or next month.

He noted that Taiwan has to make EU countries understand that Taiwan is only following its own law if it carries out death sentences.

“Taiwan will reach its final stance on the death penalty only after it forges consensus through rational debate,” Lee said.

He noted that there are over 700 members of the European Parliament and that the MOFA might have to “solicit, communicate and explain to some of them” to mitigate any hindrance to Taiwan's hopes for visa-free privileges for its people.

There are currently 44 inmates on death row, but no executions have been carried out since December 2005.

Former Justice Minister Wang Ching-feng stepped down last month after she called for the abolition of capital punishment, only to be met with an outcry from the families of the victims of violent crimes.