Not long after National Day on Oct. 10, the Chinese democracy activist Tang Yuanjun (
In China, Tang was first sentenced to 12 years in prison for participating in the 1989 student demonstrations and then, after having been released, was once again sent to jail for organizing the China Democracy Party. But despite showing proof of his identity and immediate calls from democracy activists for Taiwan to follow internationally accepted principles and not return Tang to the Chinese government, the Kinmen patrol still turned him over to prosecutors on suspicion of illegally entering the country for an unknown purpose and for being in violation of the National Security Law.
Not long ago, President Chen Shui-bian (
Faced with a democracy activist seeking political asylum, will the government withstand Chinese pressure and provide humanitarian assistance, or will it deliver him back to the dictator's chopping board?
In his book A Taste of Freedom (
During the dark era of dictatorship, political asylum in other countries sustained the lives and will of Taiwanese democracy activists. T.T. Deh (
The protection of refugees is a basic function of the universal values of human rights. The Taiwanese people, however, only have the experience of receiving political asylum. Taiwan even lacks an asylum law.
In the past, we only had regulations that offered substantial cash rewards to "righteous anti-communist warriors" who came to the ROC flying an airplane or other military transport and emphasized the use of rewards to encourage surrender. This, however has distorted the Taiwanese view of refugees and asylum.
We have experienced a transfer of power and we say that our nation is built on human rights, but how do we deal with someone who comes to Taiwan having escaped persecution? Are we willing, and do we have the ability, to provide proper human rights protection?
With the disappearance of "righteous anti-communist fighters," those who arrive in Taiwan illegally are called "stowaways," regardless of whether they are democracy activists or internationally recognized Tibetan refugees. In Taiwan, stowaways have always been labeled criminals or sources of social problems. They are all easily dealt with by being sent back to where they came from.
The Tang incident is not a case of another stowaway. It highlights Taiwan's lack of mechanisms and procedures for protecting refugees.
Taiwan may be a late starter, but delayed recognition is better than ignorance. Let us cast aside our historical prejudice and create an asylum law for the true protection of human rights.
Ku Yu-chen is a former secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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