A key member of the government's President's Advisory Group on Human Rights (人權諮詢小組) confirmed yesterday that he had recently left the group, which is headed by Taiwan's feisty and controversial Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).
Peter Huang (
"The group's purpose is to define the mission and status of the human rights committee [yet to be formed]. It is nothing more than an advisory group," Huang told the Taipei Times.
The 21 member advisory group was formed on Oct. 23 with the task of establishing a "National Human Rights Committee" and drafting a human rights covenant.
The establishment of the human rights committee and covenant have been long-standing ambitions of the DPP and human rights activists in Taiwan.
Huang denied, however, a local newspaper report which in addition to breaking the news of his departure claimed his letter of resignation was a "fiery and direct" missive aimed at Annette Lu, the convener of the group.
The report said that the letter was so harsh that Lu's executive officer in the advisory group was unwilling to let Lu read it.
That was an "awful piece of news reporting," Huang said, adding that the two letters which he had sent, one to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and another to Lu at the beginning of February, were "very matter of fact ... just as one colleague would send to another."
Huang did not say, however, in which specific instances his opinions differed from those of the group and its convener.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique