Human rights activists urged President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday to press China on political reforms in the speech he gives on his inaugural for a second term on May 20.
Two recent events in China — the dramatic escape of blind human rights activist Chen Guangchen (陳光誠) from illegal house arrest and a deadly clash between Chinese and ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang Province — revealed worsening human rights conditions in the country, the activists said.
“As the beacon of democracy in the Chinese-speaking world, Taiwan needs to weigh in on rights issues to show our commitment to democracy,” said Paul Lin (林保華), president of the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Ma should press Beijing on the issue of political reforms, and the ideal platform would be Ma’s inauguration speech on May 20, Lin said at a press conference prior to his departure for Tokyo to attend the general assembly of the World Uighur Congress from Monday to Thursday.
Speaking at the same press conference, Taiwan Friends of Tibet chairwoman Chou Mei-li (周美里) said the human rights situation in China demands immediate attention.
The self-immolation of Tibetan monks in protest against Beijing’s rule is an example of the problem there, she said.
“There is so much suppression in China that is not being noticed,” Chou said.
“It’s an important issue to the global community and we should take part in changing that situation,” she added.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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