An association of Taiwanese students studying in France plans to protest the French government's decision to deny President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) a visa.
Chen sought to visit France earlier this month to receive the 2001 Prize for Freedom from Liberal International, a group of liberal parties from more than 60 countries. But France refused to approve the visa, fearing an angry response from China.
"France's refusal to grant Chen a visa is contrary not only to the freedom prize but also to the spirit of freedom, equality and fraternity praised by the Fifth Republic of France," Waiting Lee (李威霆), a member of the association, said yesterday.
In a draft letter, the students note that France -- despite pressure from China -- has on numerous occasions allowed visits by the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader. There's little reason why the French government should refuse to give Chen a visa, the students said. "To support the Taiwanese who love freedom is a way to protest against China's dictatorship," the letter says.
Lee said the letter would be sent to the French government and the European Commission.
According to Hans van Baalen, vice president of Liberal International, all 15 members of the EU refused to grant Chen a visa to accept the award, despite lobbying efforts by the organization.
The EU has made an unofficial rule that Taiwan's top five political figures -- the president, vice president, premier and ministers of foreign affairs and defense -- cannot be issued visas, even for private travel.
Lee said some non-governmental organizations in France have voiced their support for the letter. The association is also working with its counterparts in North America and elsewhere to garner support.
On Nov. 14, first lady Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) accepted the prize on behalf of Chen in Strasbourg, France, an honor the president said also recognizes the people of Taiwan for their remarkable democratic achievements.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
RSS