We are deeply concerned about the recent actions of former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
We are writing this as friends who -- when Shih was arrested in those dark days of January 1980, following the Dec. 10, 1979, Kaohsiung Incident -- worked day and night for his release from prison.
In 1985 and in 1986, when Shih was on hunger strike in prison, we wrote articles and letters calling on the international community to put pressure on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) authorities to release him. These articles can be found on our Taiwan Communique Web site at www.taiwandc.org/twcom/tc21-int.pdf and www.taiwandc.org/twcom/tc26-int.pdf.
We are writing to remind Shih of the ideals he expressed at that time. In his 1985 statement, Shih wrote: "With mounting and maturing years, knowledge, experience and powers of judgment, I have come to know that injustice and inequality among the human family is not limited to Taiwan alone."
"Everyone must hold fast to this with unshaken conviction, even more with patience. Simply because we are confident of the supremacy and sacredness of our ideal, under no circumstance does this warrant our failure to carefully choose the methods used in its attainment. Foul means are still foul, and the sacredness of the purpose can in no way render them fair," he wrote.
We want to remind Shih that Taiwanese people have no other "motherland" than Taiwan.
We want to remind him that in those dark days, current People First Party Chairman James Soong (
In view of all this, we are deeply disappointed that Shih is now siding with the pan-blue camp, who were the ones responsible for Taiwan's 38 years of martial law, its White Terror and Shih's own imprisonment. This is incomprehensible to us.
Certainly, one should stand up for what is right, and certainly it is essential to fight corruption. But the cases of former Presidential Office deupty secretary-general Chen Che-nan (
These cases came to light because under the DPP, Taiwan is now free and democratic. Under the old KMT administration, these cases would have been swept under the carpet. As a former human-rights activist, Shih should respect the law and let the court handle these cases instead of taking to the streets, creating disruption and social instability.
It is clear to us that the pan-blue camp is using these cases to undermine a democratically elected government. Former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
To quote Shih's own words: "foul means are still foul."
For the sake of stability and to safeguard Taiwan's future as a free, democratic and independent nation that can stand proudly as a full member of the international community, we strongly urge Shih to call off his campaign and reconcile with his old friends in the democratic camp, instead of letting himself be used by the self-serving pan-blue demagogues.
The Taiwanese now have a motherland. Don't sell it out to those who want to unite with China.
Gerrit van der Wees and Mei-chin Chen
International Committee for Human Rights in Taiwan
Washington
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is leading a delegation to China through Sunday. She is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing tomorrow. That date coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which marked a cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations. Staging their meeting on this date makes it clear that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intends to challenge the US and demonstrate its “authority” over Taiwan. Since the US severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it has relied on the TRA as a legal basis for all
Taiwan ranks second globally in terms of share of population with a higher-education degree, with about 60 percent of Taiwanese holding a post-secondary or graduate degree, a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showed. The findings are consistent with Ministry of the Interior data, which showed that as of the end of last year, 10.602 million Taiwanese had completed post-secondary education or higher. Among them, the number of women with graduate degrees was 786,000, an increase of 48.1 percent over the past decade and a faster rate of growth than among men. A highly educated population brings clear advantages.
RSS