Taiwan has made considerable progress in improving its human rights situation, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday at an event marking World Human Rights Day on Thursday, with victims of political persecution among the audience.
The ceremony took place at the National Human Rights Museum and the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park in New Taipei City, which was formerly a prison run by the Taiwan Garrison Command to incarcerate political dissidents.
“Taiwan has seen concrete progress in transitional justice in the past few years. People from across generations have joined the effort, achieving positive results for transitional justice, as well as to strive for more vigorous protection of human rights. These will ensure that our freedom and democracy will last into the future,” Tsai said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“These efforts and progress can help us face the suffering and agony of the past, and resolve to never repeat history. Then we can join together to advance forward and build a common future,” she added.
Tsai listed her administration’s accomplishments in carrying out transitional justice, such as the establishment of the Transitional Justice Commission to investigate past institutional abuses and atrocities against people to restore justice and truth, overturn wrongful convictions against victims, and disclose secret government files.
Tsai pointed to the establishment of the National Human Rights Museum two years ago to promote human rights education and document Taiwan’s progress from authoritarianism to a democratic society.
“People can see the positive results of human rights education, and also exhibits and research work at the museum. It has undertaken multifaceted programs to combine arts, literature, music and other forms to disseminate the concept of human rights in people’s daily lives,” she said.
Tsai also lauded the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission on Aug. 1, an independent agency of the Control Yuan that is tasked with probing rights violations, reviewing the implementation of human rights policies and presenting national reports on human rights.
Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊) was previously a victim of political persecution, so she has empathy for the victims and their families, and for their burden of pain and pressure, Tsai said, adding: “Under Chen Chu’s leadership, I believe the commission can strengthen the protection of human rights, and pass [it] on to our future generations.”
In her address, Chen said she wants to “thank the many respected elders and victims of political persecution who came before me, because they refused to succumb under the past authoritarian one-party state. It is they who enabled Taiwan to have the energy to fight for our freedom and democracy.”
“To them and their families who suffered together, we are grateful for their agony and sacrifice — they helped make Taiwan a land of beauty and freedom — and for attaching great importance to human rights protection,” Chen said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘NOT SUBORDINATE’: Only Taiwanese can decide the nation’s future, and people preserving their democratic way of life is not a provocation, President William Lai said Taiwan does not want China’s “one country, two systems,” and must uphold its freedom and democracy as well as resolve to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, rejecting Beijing’s latest bid to bring the country under Chinese control. The president made the remarks while attending a commissioning ceremony for Taiwan’s first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口). The tanks are made by General Dynamics, a major US defense contractor. China this week said it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media
RSS