President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday broke his silence on the sentencing of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) and urged Beijing to tolerate those who express their opinions by peaceful means, but stopped short of calling for his release.
Liu, a co-author of “Charter 08,” which calls for an end to Chinese Communist Party dominance and the implementation of a constitutional democracy in China, was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Beijing court on Friday.
Ma yesterday said he has been pursuing democracy and human rights since he began his political career. He also made tremendous effort to implement such policies since he took office in May last year, he said.
As the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are signatories of two UN rights conventions — the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights — Ma said he hoped both sides would give those who voice their opinions in a peaceful manner the most tolerance possible.
Yesterday marked Ma’s first comments on Liu’s case since his sentencing on Friday, while the international community was swift to denounce Beijing. Washington demanded Liu’s immediate release. The Swedish EU presidency condemned the decision, saying it raised concerns about freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial in China. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement that the verdict cast “an ominous shadow” over China’s commitments to protect human rights.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokeswoman Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Friday accused Ma, who during his term as Taipei mayor championed the rights of Tiananmen Massacre protesters, of staying silent on China’s gross violations of human rights after taking office.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) asked Ma to request Liu’s release, saying the Ma administration had remained silent since Liu was taken into custody more than a year ago. Such silence sent a wrong message to the world that the Taiwanese government did not oppose Beijing’s suppression of democratic reformers, she said.
On Friday, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Liu’s sentence serves as a test of the Chinese government’s approach to dealing with human rights.
The MAC said it hoped Beijing would step up its efforts to implement the two covenants to demonstrate its respect for human rights and the protection of universal values.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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