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
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
RSS