KMT ignoring plight of supporters in China: DPP

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said it holds Beijing responsible for the disappearance of a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) sympathizer in China and called on the KMT and the international community to condemn Chinese oppression.

Sun Buer (孫不二), a member of the Chinese Pan-blue Alliance, has been missing since Wednesday, the Epoch Times reported on Thursday.

The alliance, a registered political organization founded in 2004 in China, "opposes the Communist system, recognizes the Three Principles of the People" and would "work with the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] toward the nation's unification," the alliance's Web site said.

The DPP urged the KMT to voice its concern and to do something for its sympathizers in China who the DPP said are "obviously enduring merciless oppression" by Chinese authorities.

Sun was to meet with Ni Jiangfeng (倪江峰), another member of the alliance on Wednesday, to get pictures from a demonstration in Wuhan. Ni never showed up, the report said.

"All Wuhan members [of the alliance] ... were warned not to leak the news that Sun is missing to the foreign media," Zhang Zilin (張子霖), also an alliance member, was quoted by the Epoch Times as saying.

Lai I-chung (賴怡忠), director of the DPP's Department of Chinese Affairs, said in a press release on Friday that "Taiwan, as well as all countries in the world, should not be silent on this incident, but should offer their strong support [to Chinese activists] and closely monitor China's promise to improve human rights before the [2008] Olympics."

Lai said that when former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) traveled to China last month to preside over an economic forum organized by the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Beijing government blocked the alliance's supporters and sympathizers' attempt to mount a welcome party for Lien.

At one point, Lai said, Chinese security officers even forcefully prevented members of the alliance from getting close to the KMT delegation led by Lien.

In the wake of the KMT-CCP forum, Lai quoted media reports as saying that Beijing has continued to crack down on pro-KMT groups in Henan, Jilin, Hunan, Sichuan and other provinces.

Regrettably, Lai said, the KMT leadership had said nothing about these developments.

"Much to my surprise and disappointment, senior KMT officials have denied any links to Chinese KMT supporters and have consistently kept mum when China's Taiwan Affairs Office noted on numerous occasions that `pan-blue alliance' support groups in China are illegal and outlawed," Lai said.