Chinese dissident Yang Jianli (楊建利) yesterday urged Taiwan not to forget about democracy, freedom or its sovereignty when pursuing closer relations with China.
“I would like to call on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to use the language of democracy and freedom when developing closer ties with China. Taiwanese should pay more attention to their sovereignty so that it won’t be damaged when interacting with China,” Yang told a press conference coorganized by domestic civic groups to voice their support for democracy and human rights activists in China.
“Taiwanese should defend Taiwan’s sovereignty and make Taiwan’s democracy more mature so that it can become a role model for China to follow,” he said.
Yang also took the opportunity to express his gratitude toward individuals and civic groups in Taiwan who joined a globally coordinated campaign for his release when he was imprisoned in China from 2002 to 2007.
He discussed the movement for human rights in China.
“The movement is not only about human rights, it’s also about democracy and fundamental political reform in China,” Yang said, adding that the fact that more than 10,000 people inside China used their real names to sign a petition supporting Charter 08 showed that the movement is gaining momentum.
Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠), an attorney and a member of the Taipei Bar Association’s (TBA) Human Rights Protection Committee, agreed with Yang that human rights issues should not be left out of cross-strait exchanges.
“During the past year, the TBA received many visitors — individual lawyers and bar associations — from China,” Kao said. “Each time they came, we mentioned human rights in China and the discussions weren’t an obstacle to our exchanges.”
“If a civic group can do so, why can’t the government?” Kao asked.
He said that it was because of pressure from human rights groups and governments around the world that Chinese dissident Feng Zhenghu (馮正虎) was finally allowed to go home after living in Tokyo’s Narita Airport for more than 90 days.
Exiled Chinese writer Bei Ling (貝嶺) said earlier efforts were paying off.
“Twenty years ago, liberals in China voiced support for [former Czech president] Vaclav Havel, and now he’s voicing support for Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波),” Bei said. “Seven years ago, my friends and I campaigned for Yang’s release, and today it’s his turn to campaign for other imprisoned dissidents’ release.”
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive