Human rights groups yesterday welcomed the legislature’s ratification of two UN human rights conventions on Tuesday — 42 years after their signing — and called on the government to turn the treaties into national policy.
“The Taiwan Association for Human Rights welcomes the ratification of the two important international treaties on human rights,” association secretary-general Tsai Chi-hsun (蔡季勳) said, adding that the ratification was a milestone in the campaign to improve human rights protection.
Tsai was referring to the legislature ratifying the International Convention of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Convention of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and adopting the Act Governing Execution of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (公民與政治權利國際公約及經濟社會文化權利國際公約施行法).
Then-ambassador to the UN Liu Chieh (劉鍇) signed the two covenants on Oct. 5, 1967, but the legislature only validated them on Tuesday.
Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty executive director Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡) hailed the ratification, but said the government had to turn the treaties into policies.
“Article 6 of the ICCPR says that in countries with the death penalty, the penalty can only applied to the most serious crimes,” Lin said. “Under international practice, ‘most serious crimes’ refer to those that violate other people’s right to life.”
In Taiwan, drug trafficking and gang rape are punishable by death.
Tsai said the Cabinet’s proposed amendments to the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) would violate articles 21 and 22 of the ICCPR, which state: “the right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right,” except for in cases when national interest, public security and public heath may be threatened.
Meanwhile, Tsai said he doubted the government was sincere about enforcing the treaties, since a clause in the draft of the law stipulating that the law would take effect upon its passage was changed to “the date that the law takes effect shall be decided by the Executive Yuan.”
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
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