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
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
RSS