China’s oppression of its own citizens and dissidents not only harms human rights domestically, but also casts a shadow on its neighbors. Taiwan’s frontline fight against the rollback of human rights requires global attention and support from other democratic countries.
The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday conducted a new universal periodic review on China. It is clear and without doubt that Beijing’s continued repression of human rights has triggered waves of criticisms and protests domestically, and also cast a shadow on its neighbors.
Over the past few years, protests in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong have demonstrated the people’s desire for democracy and greater human rights protections. The introduction of a social credit system and the forced disappearance of pro-democracy activists have raised concerns. China’s violent suppression and refusal to acknowledge the appeals of the public is disheartening.
The international media have extensively covered the Chinese government’s forced rehabilitation of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region “re-education camps.” The Chinese government’s labeling of innocent individuals as “extremists” and its systematic efforts to eradicate the unique culture and Islamic faith of the Uighurs are clear indicators of ongoing minority oppression in China.
China is also tightening its grip on the ability of individuals in Hong Kong to participate in politics. The disqualifications of Lau Siu-lai (劉小麗) and others in an effort to silence the public are in gross violation of the “one country, two systems” declaration and threaten Hong Kong’s civic society. China’s continued repression will only further alienate Hong Kong’s citizens and expose “one country under two systems” as a myth.
The New Power Party (NPP), as a party native to Taiwan, an advocate for the establishment of national normalcy and supporter of democracy in the region, urges the international community to take its responsibility in view of China’s human rights violations.
China’s use of economic coercion and the Belt and Road Initiative to export its own imperialistic ambitions threatens to undo half a century of democracy, human rights and rule of law in the region. Only through collective efforts can we reverse the humanitarian crisis of the century.
With local elections on Nov. 24, Taiwan is all the more vulnerable to China’s meddling and encroachment. The NPP appeals to the international community to join forces in condemning China, to call for an end to its internal repression and external economic coercion, and to declare their support for democracy in Taiwan — allowing Taiwan to continue to be a champion of human rights and peace in the global community.
Chen Nah-chia is an NPP press officer. She holds a master’s of international politics from the School of African and Oriental Studies at the University of London and was previously a legislative assistant for the NPP caucus. Shieh Yi-hsiang is a postgraduate student at George Washington University in Washington. He was previously also an NPP legislative assistant.
In the US’ National Security Strategy (NSS) report released last month, US President Donald Trump offered his interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. The “Trump Corollary,” presented on page 15, is a distinctly aggressive rebranding of the more than 200-year-old foreign policy position. Beyond reasserting the sovereignty of the western hemisphere against foreign intervention, the document centers on energy and strategic assets, and attempts to redraw the map of the geopolitical landscape more broadly. It is clear that Trump no longer sees the western hemisphere as a peaceful backyard, but rather as the frontier of a new Cold War. In particular,
When it became clear that the world was entering a new era with a radical change in the US’ global stance in US President Donald Trump’s second term, many in Taiwan were concerned about what this meant for the nation’s defense against China. Instability and disruption are dangerous. Chaos introduces unknowns. There was a sense that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) might have a point with its tendency not to trust the US. The world order is certainly changing, but concerns about the implications for Taiwan of this disruption left many blind to how the same forces might also weaken
As the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) races toward its 2027 modernization goals, most analysts fixate on ship counts, missile ranges and artificial intelligence. Those metrics matter — but they obscure a deeper vulnerability. The true future of the PLA, and by extension Taiwan’s security, might hinge less on hardware than on whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can preserve ideological loyalty inside its own armed forces. Iran’s 1979 revolution demonstrated how even a technologically advanced military can collapse when the social environment surrounding it shifts. That lesson has renewed relevance as fresh unrest shakes Iran today — and it should
On today’s page, Masahiro Matsumura, a professor of international politics and national security at St Andrew’s University in Osaka, questions the viability and advisability of the government’s proposed “T-Dome” missile defense system. Matsumura writes that Taiwan’s military budget would be better allocated elsewhere, and cautions against the temptation to allow politics to trump strategic sense. What he does not do is question whether Taiwan needs to increase its defense capabilities. “Given the accelerating pace of Beijing’s military buildup and political coercion ... [Taiwan] cannot afford inaction,” he writes. A rational, robust debate over the specifics, not the scale or the necessity,
RSS