Ma will doubtless use such rhetoric in the future to defend dictatorship. The CCP has signed several human rights covenants and action plans, which Ma describes as China’s willingness to face the issue of human rights and the embodiment of openness and self-confidence. This is simply a joke.
Many countries have constitutions unequivocally guaranteeing the human rights and freedom of its citizens. However, a constitution must be acted on, otherwise all the ideals and promises in the world are just empty talk.
The same Constitution that governed Taiwan during the Martial Law era governs today’s democracy, with clauses that protect human rights and freedom. However, when these clauses conflicted with totalitarian instruments such as the Taiwan Garrison Command and the intelligence network, they weren’t worth the paper they were written on.
Dictators are especially fond of talking about “the people” and “democracy,” but when they want to lock up their opponents, human rights articles become disposable.
Taiwanese who lived through the authoritarian era understand the meaning and the truth of these simple concepts and historical facts.
How can it be that Ma does not?
It is both tragic and shameless for Ma to defend China by saying that Beijing has signed key human rights covenants when he knows that doing so will not in itself bring freedom and democracy.
June 4 is not all Ma wants to forget. He believes that words and clauses in human rights covenants equal real democracy. The democracy and human rights clauses in the Republic of China Constitution are being used by the Ma administration to cover up its anti-democratic and anti-human rights practices.
Ma’s “Observations on the 20th Anniversary of the June 4th Incident” clearly illustrate sympathy for the lot of the authoritarian ruler.
TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
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