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
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS