Broadcaster Kim Seong-min, the winner of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy’s (TFD) Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award, wept yesterday as he spoke of the hardship North Korean defectors endure in Seoul in their efforts to deliver messages of hope to their compatriots trapped in the North.
“I went to South Korea for freedom, but sometimes I receive parcels containing blood-stained knives and axes, warning me against running the radio station. It might be because the North Korea regime want to quash all defectors, but the menace only further spurs me to pursue freedom and democracy,” Kim said.
Those present at the ceremony, including President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), ambassadors and overseas representatives, and representatives of Taiwanese non-governmental organizations broke into warm applause after Kim spoke. This year’s award was conferred on Kim, founder and representative of Free North Korea Radio (FNKR), which broadcasts news and information from Seoul to the people of North Korea.
“Mr Kim was recognized for his courage in defying the North Korean dictatorship and his dedication to human rights. We hope that the award can encourage him to continue to provide diverse information to North Koreans and that he can achieve his aspiration of a free and democratic North Korea,” said Wang, the foundation’s chairman.
Ma said that Kim’s story demonstrated that “the world is not perfect” and “there is still a lot of room for improvement,” adding that Taiwan was obliged to join the efforts of other advanced countries to push for democracy and address human rights abuses around the world.
Praising Kim for his “tremendous efforts” in fighting for freedom, Ma said what Kim had done was commendable.
“Mr Kim deserves the award and I have great admiration for his endeavors,” Ma said.
Ma told the audience that the promise he made a year ago to implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had been delivered as the act went into effect yesterday to mark International Human Rights Day.
Although the country’s ratification of the two covenants was rejected by the UN in June, presenting the adoption of the covenants to the UN was still an important gesture, as it let the international community know that the Republic of China is a country willing to comply with the universal declaration of human rights, Ma said.
FNKR is the first radio station of its kind run by North Korean defectors. The content of its programs are tailored to ordinary North Koreans and the broadcasters speak with a style and accent that are not only familiar to North Koreans, but also less easily detected as an illegal “foreign” radio broadcast by government inspectors who eavesdrop on such activities.
Kim was chosen from a pool of 32 nominees during a two-stage review process representing sixteen countries. He received this year’s award and US$100,000.
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