A group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday called for a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to protest against a Chinese government policy that would bar 43 categories of "unwanted" people from attending the games.
The Chinese Ministry of Public Security issued a directive to its agencies around the country in early April demanding strict background checks for anyone who applies for entry into the country ahead of the Olympics, the lawmakers said.
The directive lists Falun Gong practitioners, activists for an independent Xinjiang or Tibet, religious extremists and other categories of dissidents among those who will not be allowed to enter the country, they said.
"The whole world should refuse to be part of the games because the Chinese government initiated its boycott first," Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), a DPP legislator-at-large nominee in January's legislative elections, said at a press conference.
Twu said "people of conscience" would be barred from entry.
"Who would support the kind of government that has used its authority to ruthlessly eliminate anyone who is not behind it?" Twu said.
DPP Legislator William Lai (
The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG) is planning to hold a global human rights torch relay to draw attention to allegations of human-rights abuses.
The alternative torch relay is set to kick off in Greece next Thursday and cover more than a hundred cities in dozens of countries on five continents.
It will arrive in Taiwan next June.
The CIPFG was formed last year to enable persons around the world to help investigate the persecution of Falun Gong members in China.
Also present at the appeal yesterday was Rinzin Tsering, the chairman of the Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association representing Tibetans in Taiwan.
He voiced his support for a group of 14 Tibetans in India who have been on a hunger strike since July 8.
The group is demanding accountability from China for its gross violations of basic human rights and freedoms in Tibet, Tsering said.
"[The hunger strike] is a message of support for the freedom of Tibet and our people's determination to fight for our cause to the end," he said.
He appealed to the international community to convince politicians and governments to pressure Beijing to respect human rights.
He also said that holding the Olympics in China was an injustice to the millions of people who have suffered under the Chinese regime and a betrayal of Olympic principles, as the event should be for people who love peace, friendship, human rights and democracy.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
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