Democracy campaigners yesterday announced plans to hold events tomorrow to draw attention to a 2015 Chinese crackdown on human rights lawyers and renewed calls for Beijing to release Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波).
Human rights groups and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei called for the release of Wu Gan (吳淦), Jiang Tianyong (江天勇), Wang Quanzhang (王全璋) and other Chinese lawyers imprisoned following a crackdown on July 9, 2015, which saw hundreds detained.
“The 2015 crackdown shocked lawyers, non-governmental organizations and Taiwanese society in general,” Taiwanese China Human Rights Lawyers Support Network secretary Chou Ching-chang (周慶昌) said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“We hope these events on the second anniversary of the crackdown will prompt the Chinese government to respond,” Chou said.
Chou led the groups to shout slogans calling for Beijing to release those it has detained.
Two documentaries on the lawyers’ work and imprisonment are to be screened tomorrow at the National Taiwan University Alumni Club next to the Legislative Yuan and at the Jhonghe District (中和) branch of the National Central Library in New Taipei City, with stalls and petitions set up at Number Four Park (四號公園) in Jhonghe.
The documentaries are to be shown from 2pm to 4:30pm, with signatures being sought for the petitions in the park from 4pm until 9pm.
“We are holding these events not to commemorate, but to remind people that the lawyers still have not been released,” Taiwan Association for Human Rights secretary-general Chiu Ee-ling (邱伊翎) said. “The price they have paid for democracy and human rights would be wasted if we allow ourselves to forget them because of their disappearance.”
Chiu called on the government and the Legislative Yuan to be braver and more proactive in dealing with the situation.
“The lawyers and other dissidents did not do anything wrong,” she said. “The fault lies with Beijing, so we should stand with them.”
“Human rights should not be laid aside for the sake of economic interests, because these values are the most important thing to give us standing to move toward participating in global society,” she said.
“We wish to express our deep support for the lawyers, because their bravery is worthy of note,” said Lin Tzu-lin (林子琳), head of the Taipei Bar Association’s human rights committee. “Making statements in favor of human rights is not something that should lead to castigation or unfavorable treatment.”
“Visitation rights being denied to some of the lawyers demonstrates China’s lack of procedural guarantees,” Lin said.
Yu said the treatment of Liu — who was recently given medical parole after being diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer — revealed the gap between Chinese statements on prison conditions and reality.
“The Chinese State Council last year published a white paper on prison conditions, promising regular medical checkups and the right to leave prison for necessary care, but look at what happened to Liu: He was healthy when he was locked up and then released only after his cancer was terminal,” she said.
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