Falun Gong practitioners in Taiwan yesterday filed a lawsuit against Beijing Deputy Mayor Ji Lin (吉林) — who arrived in Taiwan in the afternoon — for the abuse of Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing.
“Having served in several party and government leadership positions in Beijing since 1998, Ji has played either an assisting or leading role in mass arrests of Falun Gong practitioners in the city,” Taiwan Falun Dafa Association chairman Chang Ching-hsi (張清溪) told reporters outside the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office.
“In 2008, when he served on the organizing committee of the Beijing Olympics, he launched another wave of mass arrests of Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing in the name of security, which led to the torture and death of a well-known local musician, Yu Zhou (于宙),” Chang said.
Ji, who the Falun Gong had said would arrive at 11:55pm, arrived in Taiwan at about 3pm, accompanied by a delegation of more than 200 members for meetings on potential cooperation in business and technology.
DISCREPANCY
At press time, the discrepancy in Ji’s time of arrival could not be accounted for.
Falun Gong practitioner and attorney Teresa Chu (朱婉琪) said the legislature adopted a resolution on Tuesday last week requiring government authorities — including the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the National Immigration Agency (NIA) — to deny entry into Taiwan to Chinese officials who are known to have been involved in human rights abuses.
The resolution was proposed by Democratic Progressive Party legislators Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) and Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) and received support from lawmakers across party lines.
Aside from the legislature’s adoption of the resolution, six counties and cities — Kaohsiung, Changhua, Hualien, Miaoli and Yunlin counties, as well as Kaohisung and Chiayi cities — have adopted similar, albeit separate, resolutions.
PRECEDENT
“Ji is the first Chinese official who has committed crimes against humanity, but who was nevertheless permitted to come into the country since the adoption of the resolution,” Chu said. “This is why we’re filing the lawsuit.”
As knowledge of which Chinese officials were human rights violators was difficult to determine, Chu called on the MAC and NIA to publicize a list of Chinese officials invited to visit “so that we can help the government identify who has committed crimes against humanity and provide evidence.”
Responding to the development, NIA Deputy Director-General Ho Jung-tsun (何榮村) told the Taipei Times by telephone that “the permission for Ji’s visit was issued before the [legislative] resolution on Dec. 7,” which appeared to suggest that the resolution was not retroactive.
“Since prosecutors have taken over the case, we will do our best to assist them and follow whatever they want us to do,” Ho said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
RSS