It may not have been overly dramatic of the Wild Strawberries Student Movement to stage a mock memorial service for human rights this week at the clumsily named National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall. Pan-green politicians are being held for days on end without charge; serious allegations of excessive use of force have been leveled at police; and the true purpose of the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法) came into sharp focus this month.
Though far from dead, civil rights essential to democracy are on a slippery slope.
All the more cause for alarm was Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng’s (王清峰) letter to the Taipei Times yesterday. Wang took an astonishing stance against the facts to rebut allegations leveled at prosecutors.
Despite the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) claims during its time as an opposition party that the judiciary was biased, Wang wrote in a letter to the Taipei Times that it is “quite simply untrue” that the nation’s “judicial system is susceptible to political manipulation.”
Kudos to Wang, who just might be the most optimistic person in Taiwan on this subject.
Wang dismissed claims that prosecutors were bending over backwards to please the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) figures arrested recently were all charged within 24 hours, she said.
This, unfortunately, is also “simply untrue,” raising concerns that Wang did not mean what she wrote or lacks a basic grasp of the legal system. Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬), for example, was held for more than a week without charge. Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) remains in custody — without charge — as the ministry applies pressure on his lawyer to stop talking to the media.
Wang promised in her letter there would be “absolutely no erosion of justice in Taiwan, no matter who the accused is.” This is a noble pledge, but it will take more than words from the minister to make her argument: The actions of prosecutors speak louder.
NGOs and observers abroad are closely watching the situation. In the past months, Taiwan, which normally draws little concern from human rights groups, has fallen into their radar.
The International Federation of Journalists has condemned the government’s “apparent interference in state-owned media” after both the Central News Agency and Radio Taiwan International complained of pressure from the authorities. The International Federation for Human Rights is concerned that police action during the visit of Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) curbed the freedom of speech of protesters. Reporters without Borders also expressed concern over the detention of a journalist covering the visit.
Likewise, the arrests of the DPP figures prompted a joint open letter from international experts, to which Wang’s letter was a confused response.
It should be amply clear that the actions of the current administration are not going unnoticed. At this point, convincing the Wild Strawberries and other skeptical voices at home and abroad that the nation’s human rights are as healthy today as they were a year ago will take a concerted effort indeed.
Unless the administration moves fast to remedy the situation, its reputation, like the nation’s human rights, will continue to erode.
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
RSS