Reports on Saturday that two Taiwanese citizens were detained by Chinese police were a stark reminder of the unbridgeable divide between democracy and authoritarianism.
Shao Yuhua (邵玉華), a Falun Gong practitioner who immigrated from China 11 years ago, was taken away, along with her Taiwan-born daughter, while visiting her family in Henan Province, the Taiwan Falun Dafa Association said.
Her sister, a follower of the same spiritual movement, was also detained. Given their faith, it is almost certain that the three were targeted not because of any crime they had committed, but because their religion has been labeled an “evil cult” by Beijing, which flouts its constitutional obligation to honor freedom of religion.
Their detention highlights a problem other governments have encountered: Beijing does not recognize dual or renounced citizenship for Chinese nationals. Even governments like Canada, which China recognizes, have trouble convincing Beijing to respect their right to protect their citizens.
It should therefore come as no surprise that Chinese authorities have no qualms about detaining Taiwanese citizens of Chinese origin.
Nevertheless, action by the Taiwanese government in taking up Shao and her child’s case could be crucial to the fate of the two.
In 2006, Huseyincan Celil — a Uighur activist who fled China, received UN refugee status and was later granted citizenship by the Canadian government — was arrested by Chinese authorities. Celil had been visiting family in Uzbekistan when he was detained and handed over to Xinjiang police at their request.
In the case of Celil, Canada’s swift and persistent diplomatic efforts may have prevented him from being executed. Ottawa sent diplomats to China to lobby for his release and secured a promise from Beijing that he would not be executed. Later, some reports said that Celil was sentenced to death, but that at the last minute the penalty was commuted to life imprisonment.
Celil remains in prison and it seems unlikely that China will yield to Ottawa’s demands for his release. Nevertheless, the decision not to execute him in a country that is almost unsparing with the death penalty was significant.
In the case of Shao and her daughter, Taiwan’s actions could help determine whether the pair will ever be freed.
The arrests illustrate the severity of China’s crackdown on Falun Gong, in which even children are not spared. It is unclear how many people have been sentenced to prison or thrown into the extrajudicial laogai system, in which prisoners have no recourse to courts, their families may not be informed of their whereabouts or sentence, and sentences are subject to arbitrary extension.
If Taipei keeps quiet on Shao’s detention, it will be failing its obligation to protect its citizens. It must push decisively and sincerely for the release of Shao and her daughter.
Unfortunately, given its silence on the oppression of Tibetans and Uighurs, it is unlikely that the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will risk angering Chinese authorities by touching on one of the most taboo subjects in China — Falun Gong.
This, however, would only amplify doubts about the priorities of Ma’s cross-strait policies. In all dealings with China, the welfare of Taiwanese citizens must take priority.
NOTE: In the editorial above, we reported that Falun Gong practitioner Shao Yuhua's daughter and her sister, also a Falun Gong follower, had been detained by Chinese police. Shao's daughter was not detained. Her sister does not practice Falun Gong and was detained briefly and released. Only Shao remains in detention. The Taipei Times regrets the error.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with