Both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday issued statements marking the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. The KMT called on China not to allow history to repeat itself while the DPP urged the Chinese authorities to apologize for the massacre and readdress the miscarriage of justice surrounding the event.
The Tiananmen Square Massacre was an unfortunate event, KMT spokesman Lee Chien-jung (李建榮) said. Following China’s social and economic development these past 20 years, it should not let history repeat itself, he said.
Freedom and human rights, democracy, and law and order are universal values as well as the common goals pursued by both side of the Taiwan Strait amid the normalization of cross-strait relations, Lee said.
“Cross-strait development and a win-win situation in economic cooperation are the what we are working toward,” Lee said. “An open society tolerates different voices to serve as the foundation for a harmonic society and stimulate society’s progress and the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.”
When asked for comment, KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday expressed approval for China’s progress in that regard over the past 20 years.
Meanwhile, the DPP said the Chinese government should offer an apology and compensation to the victims of the massacre. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should ask China to release Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) and other activists and include human rights issues in cross-strait talks, the DPP said.
DPP spokesperson Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said Ma used to deliver long essays to commemorate the massacre, but he had become silent once he became president.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairman Huang Kun-hui (黃昆輝) also asked Ma to stand on the side of conscience and justice and speak for the people of China.
“If he [Ma] really considers himself Chinese, he should not just deal with the Chinese Communist Party and ignore the interests of the Chinese people,” Huang said. “June 4 will be a perfect testing ground to see if Ma is simply succumbing to the Chinese government.”
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