Yuan Hongbing (袁紅冰), a Chinese democracy activist living in exile in Australia, yesterday warned Taiwanese to beware of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “two-faced” approach to diplomacy.
Yuan made the remarks at a press conference in Taipei after 15 Chinese academics were blocked from leaving the country to take part in a conference on the development of liberalism in China, despite calls for more cross-strait cultural and intellectual exchange by the Chinese leadership.
The five-day conference, organized by Yuan’s Chinese Liberal Culture Movement, National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of National Development, National Chengchi University’s Graduate Institute of Development Studies and numerous other non-governmental organizations in Taiwan, will be held in Taipei starting next Friday.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The 15 academics were reportedly harassed and threatened by Chinese police and state security officials days after receiving their entry permits from the Taiwanese government.
In an e-mail to Yuan, which he displayed at the press conference, one of the academics said police officers had threatened they would have to “face the consequences” if they insisted on attending.
“I’m sorry, but the Ministry of State Security just advised me not to take part [in the conference] and said I would be stopped anyway if I insisted on going and get everybody in trouble,” another academic wrote in an e-mail.
Yuan did not reveal the identity of the academics, for their own security.
“This is just another example of how the CCP regime deprives the Chinese people of their fundamental rights — it’s up to the authorities to decide whether Chinese citizens can attend an international conference,” Yuan said. “It also shows that the CCP’s call for more cross-strait cultural exchanges is fake — it only allows exchanges that will give the CCP a hand in its attempt to take over Taiwan.”
Yuan said he wanted to remind all Taiwanese that the CCP regime is “a group of criminals who have committed crimes against humanity, the biggest group of corrupted officials in human history and a political mafia that rips the most fundamental rights off the Chinese people and practices state terrorism to the extreme.”
“If politicians in Taiwan do not have a clear understanding of the CCP, the democracy of the Republic of China and the future of Taiwanese may one day be in great danger,” he said.
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday announced a ban on all current and former government officials from traveling to China to attend a military parade on Sept. 3, which Beijing is to hold to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. "This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Republic of China’s victory in the War of Resistance [Against Japan]," MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a regular news briefing in Taipei. To prevent Beijing from using the Sept. 3 military parade and related events for "united
RSS