Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday defended his decision to bar exiled Uighur rights activist Rebiya Kadeer from visiting Taiwan, despite widespread criticism of the ban.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators lashed out at the minister as he made his first appearance before the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee.
Jiang said last month that Kadeer, president of the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC), should not be allowed into the country since she has “close relations to a terrorist group.”
He also accused WUC secretary-general Dolkun Isa of involvement in terrorist activities that led Interpol to issue a “red notice” for him.
Jiang’s remarks were criticized by opposition lawmakers, civic groups, Kadeer and Isa.
Kadeer said that she would file a lawsuit against the government unless it apologized for the terrorist remark.
DPP Legislator Kao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) asked Jiang if he had changed his mind about freedom and human rights since becoming a minister, given that he had a reputation as a liberal when he was a professor of political science at National Taiwan University.
“You’ve lost the spirit of a liberal professor and have become a liar,” Kao said.
Jiang protested, saying he respected a lawmaker’s right to question his decision, “but you cannot label a minister with such a humiliating word, that’s unacceptable.”
He denied abandoning his liberal beliefs, but defended his decision.
“Interpol has issued a red notice for the WUC secretary-general, so in our national interest we would of course reject the entry of Kadeer, who is the WUC head,” Jiang said.
His response did not convince DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津), who questioned whether the government was following China’s agenda because it was Beijing that asked Interpol to issue the notice.
“There are other countries that have rejected Isa’s entry — China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan — but these countries are all close allies of China and are considered authoritarian to some extent,” Yeh said. “Why are we following their standards?”
If Kadeer and Isa had close connections to terrorist groups, “why would the US grant political asylum to Kadeer and Germany grant Isa citizenship?” Yeh said.
“Every country has different national interests to defend, and it’s not unusual that someone is allowed into one country, but not another,” Jiang said.
“China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan made their decisions in defense of their national interests too,” he said.
In related news, a group of Japanese academics said yesterday that Kadeer would visit Japan this month to deliver a series of speeches about human rights in China.
They said they had invited her to speak about the lives of ethnic minorities and women in China, but she would not be involved in any political activities during her trip.
Kadeer is scheduled to arrive on Oct. 20 for a 10-days visit, said Seiji Nishihara, an economics professor at the International University of Kagoshima.
“We don’t see her as a terrorist as the Chinese authorities argue, and as part of our academic activities we want our students to watch and listen for themselves what’s happening in the world, through her speeches,” he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS