The detention of Taiwanese actor and pop idol Kai Ko (柯震東) by the Chinese police without informing his family and Taiwanese authorities within 24 hours and the airing of footage showing Ko apologizing in the detention center have been criticized as human rights violations and a manifestation of the failure of the related cross-strait agreements.
Ko was shown in a “confession video” publicly broadcast by China Central Television (CCTV) crying and apologizing in the detention center.
His detention and arrest had been unknown to his family, agent and Taiwanese authorities for at least five days.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday called on the government to demand that Chinese authorities protect Ko’s right to proper legal process according to the signed cross-strait agreements on mutual legal assistance.
DPP spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎), a lawyer, said there are at least three major violations against human rights in Chinese authorities’ investigation of Ko’s case.
The first is that Ko has been detained for too long and his personal freedom has been restricted, Huang said, while the Chinese government has failed to comply with the Agreement on Jointly Cracking Down on Crime and Mutual Legal Assistance Across the Strait and the Cross-Strait Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, which require authorities to immediately notify their cross-strait counterparts when a national has been detained.
Huang said that Ko has also not been allowed access to a lawyer, which violates the defendant’s right to legal defense.
The third violation is handing footage of Ko’s “confession” to the media, “turning the case into a show trial, which is similar to a terrorist group’s footage, and which is extremely humiliating and aims to trample human dignity,” he said.
According to the Central News Agency (CNA), the Straits Exchange Foundation said it phoned China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits yesterday to ask the association “to pass the word to the related agencies” about their concern over Ko’s rights.
The CNA then quoted “a person who is familiar with cross-strait affairs” as saying that there was “nothing inappropriate” in the Chinese government’s handling of the matter.
The anonymous person said that although the agreement on mutual legal assistance requires the Chinese authorities to notify Taiwan when a Taiwanese national’s personal freedom has been restricted, “the agreement targets only criminal offenses. Ko’s administrative detention is therefore not covered by the agreement.”
And while the bilateral investment protection agreement requires notice within 24 hours, only investors and related personnel are protected by the agreement, and “if Ko has been categorized by the Chinese as an artist, he would not be included in the said accord,” CNA quoted the source as saying.
Democratic Front Against the Cross-strait Trade in Services Agreement convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) rebutted the interpretation, saying that the agreement applies to anyone with restricted personal freedom, regardless of the type of detention.
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
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,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS