A commemorative ceremony for the Tiananmen Square Massacre was held at the Legislative Yuan for the first time yesterday, with lawmakers across party lines and civic organizations participating to support human rights and promote democracy in China.
Organized by the Parliamentary Cross-Party Group on International Human Rights, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Mei-nu’s (尤美女) office, the Taiwan Association for China Human Rights (TACHR) and Friends of Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波), led by exiled Chinese dissident Wuer Kaixi, the event was held to call on the Chinese government, on the 27th anniversary of the June 4 massacre, to stop preventing its people from learning about the incident, to admit responsibility and apologize for its mistakes, and to hold those carried out the massacre accountable.
The event also saw more than a dozen lawmakers sign an extempore motion, proposed by Yu, demanding that Taiwan’s executive agencies “express, at appropriate times, Taiwan’s serious concerns for the redressing of the June 4 [massacre] during future cross-strait meetings and exchanges.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The Tiananmen Square Massacre is not just China’s problem, but represents a threat to the universal value of human rights, Yu said, adding that the group called on China to “put an end to terror and disaster” on the June 4 anniversary.
Wuer Kaixi said Liu has been behind bars since 2008 for drafting Charter 08, “which is absolutely legitimate, reasonable and representative of Chinese views on human rights in that it is in line with the People’s Republic of China’s own constitution.”
“It might seem that time goes faster for exiled dissidents than for those incarcerated and Tiananmen mothers, but the time definitely did not fly [for us]. My mother and father have been constantly harassed [by the Chinese authorities] and, for 27 years, have not seen their own son and their grandchildren born overseas. This is what China, touted to be a rising great power, does [to punish those stand against it] by implicating their whole families,” he said, adding that the China “we are facing today is a barbaric China.”
“In this uphill battle for Chinese democracy, we have received support from all over the world, including Taiwan,” Wuer Kaixi said.
“Martin Luther King once said: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ Some young Hong Kongers have been proposing to stop commemorating June 4, saying that China’s democracy is the Chinese people’s own responsibility. That is absolutely right; we do not believe that it is Taiwanese or Hong Kongers’ responsibility. However, on this path to pursuing China’s democracy, we are sensing greater loneliness now and experiencing fading support around the world, probably due to China’s rising economic power,” he said.
Amid this kind of global environment, “today we see the taking place of a ceremony commemorating the June 4 incident in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan; it is almost like having someone pat our back on this dark, difficult, uphill road and tell us that we are not alone,” the exiled dissident said, adding that such support is especially warm when it comes from Taiwan, which also went through many ordeals to achieve its freedom and democracy.
TACHR chairman Yang Hsien-hung (楊憲宏) said he had just gotten off a plane, returning from the European Parliament’s committee hearing on China’s persecution against its people.
Yang said that during the trip, he was invited by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to talk about the possible passage of a refugee act.
“I met with the majority party caucus whip of the Dutch parliament, who was also interested in the draft act,” he added.
“When a joint review session of the Internal Administration Committee and Foreign and National Defense Committee over the draft refugee act took place on Wednesday, I was at the Dutch parliament. Their members of parliament asked me whether we were deliberating the draft ‘for real,’ which I resolutely confirmed,” Yang said. “They were all excited that Taiwan is taking action against the Chinese government’s persecution [of its people].”
“We cannot stop talking about the June 4 Incident,” as merely discussing it puts pressure on the Chinese government, he said, adding that holding the event in Taiwan’s legislature, and continuing to do so in the future, would send a strong message to Beijing.
“Beijing does not even abide by its own laws and constitution. How could it make Taiwan believe that it would follow the agreements it signed with us or in this regime? This is a message that must be spread,” Yang said.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said that 27 years could see an authoritarian state transform into a democratic one.
“Twenty-seven years after democracy pioneer Lei Chen’s (雷震) arrest [in 1960], martial law was lifted; 27 years after Peng Ming-min’s (彭明敏) ‘Declaration of Formosan Self-salvation’ [in 1964], the legislature was finally completely re-elected; 27 years after Deng Nan-jung’s (鄭南榕) self-immolation for freedom of speech [in 1989], which is this year, the main opposition party took power for the second time, consolidating a true democracy as it is widely defined,” Kuan said.
“We would be glad to see Taiwan’s experience be [useful or an encouragement] for the effort of Chinese democratization,” she added.
New Power Party Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, who said she was representing the party caucus, and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) were among the endorsers of the motion.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS