As part of a globally coordinated effort to have imprisoned Chinese dissident and Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) released, exiled Chinese democracy activists Wang Dan (王丹) and Wuer Kaixi, accompanied by Taiwan Association for China Human Rights chairman Yang Hsien-hung (楊憲宏), delivered a petition signed by more than 600 Taiwanese to the Presidential Office, asking the office to forward it to the Chinese government.
Initiated by Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu in December last year, more than 400,000 people worldwide have signed the petition urging the Chinese government to release Liu immediately, and yesterday was the date set for delivery of the petitions to Chinese diplomatic posts around the world, Wuer Kaixi told a press conference in front of a monument to commemorate victims of the White Terror era on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office yesterday morning.
“Today, people who are concerned about Liu and about the democratic movement in China are turning in petitions to Chinese consulates and embassies in their own countries, calling on China to release Liu,” Wuer Kaixi said. “Since there’s no Chinese representation here in Taiwan, we are turning in our petition to the Presidential Office, hoping that it will forward it to Beijing.”
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
Wuer Kaixi said that while President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had once urged Beijing to set Liu free, it was unfortunate that no Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers had accepted his invitation to attend the event.
“However, this is an opportunity for Ma to show he really means what he said,” Wuer Kaixi said. “The difference between Taiwan and China is that we’re giving Liu our support, while China threw him in jail.”
Wang, who is a personal friend of Liu, said that Liu has always been concerned about Taiwan’s development and considers himself a friend of Taiwan, although he has never set foot in the nation.
“As a nation that stands behind the universal values of human rights, I hope that Taiwanese will not forget their obligations to help promote human rights protection around the world, including in China,” Wang said. “It’s especially important for Taiwan, because it would not be good for cross-strait exchanges if China remains a superpower in human rights violations.”
Yang said that human rights advocates were looking to push for legislation on political asylum and to amend the Act Governing Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to include clauses on human rights protection.
Separately yesterday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) urged Ma to sign the petition demanding Beijing release Liu.
“Ma, as well as anyone who upholds the values of freedom, peace and democracy, should join more than 400,000 people from about 130 countries and support the petition drive,” DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS