Taipei Times (TT): Why did you decide to bring the Oslo Freedom Forum to Asia and why did you choose Taiwan as the first Asian host?
Gladstein: Asia is home to more than half of the world’s population, with about 4.4 billion people. If we are ignoring Asia, we are ignoring half of the world, so it is important to build an Oslo Freedom Forum community here.
Taiwan has an inspiring journey to tell. People like Egyptian actor and LGBT rights activist Omar Sharif Jr get really inspired when they hear about Taiwan’s story as a nation, which, without a civil war, went from dictatorship to democracy over time. That is really impressive and inspiring for all the people coming here from Russia, Bahrain and Egypt. They have their own stories to share, but they are also going to learn a lot from Taiwan.
Photo: Stacy Hsu, Taipei Times
The second reason is that it is a Chinese democracy. It is really important because Beijing says it all the time that the Chinese people are not ready for democracy, but Taiwan is living proof that they are liars.
Another reason is technology, which is going to be critical for the future of human rights. A recent Bloomberg article reported that the Chinese government put a backdoor on all Apple equipment whey they were making the chips. All of the devices we use can be used to spy on us, whether it is software like [China’s messaging app] WeChat, or hardware like a Chinese-made phone.
Technology is going to play a key role in whether or not we are going to live under surveillance. Taiwan is going to be really important, because you can make a lot of such equipment here, at companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, Asustek Computer Inc and others.
I would much rather trust a smartphone made here than in China. A lot of people do not realize how absolutely critical the semiconductor industry is to human rights.
TT: By choosing Taiwan as the first Asian host of the forum, are you trying to send a message to autocrats and dictators in the region?
Gladstein: We are not trying to [send a] message or talk to dictators, because we are not trying to scare them through an adversarial message. Our message is one of a positive nature for activists.
We want to tell activists in the region that they have a home and a place to come to — to learn how they can be more effective in getting resources, how technology can help them, how to avoid surveillance and how to bring democracy to their own country. They can come to Taiwan and Taiwan can be the center for that.
I want to make sure that we are on a positive message, not an adversarial and aggressive one. This is a positive conference. Too often, human rights activists are too negative and aggressive. We are trying to bring a narrative where we are building a community of people who care about civil liberty and freedom here.
We also hope [next year’s forum] will be here, but it depends on how well this [year’s forum] goes. Our goal is to build [a community for Asia] here and so far it has been an amazing reception.
TT: Taiwan has a vibrant civic society with scores of non-governmental organizations dedicated to the cause of advancing human rights, freedom and democracy. Do you have plans to cooperate with them?
Gladstein: Last time we were here, we visited many different activist groups, such as the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and the Open Culture Foundation. Of course we want to include all of them. Our goal is to give them a resource and a place where they can come and learn from other organizations regionally, in the hope that they will receive more support moving forward.
However, our mission is to help people in closed societies. We are not focusing on Taiwan. Taiwan is like the home base for this event and of course we want Taiwanese organizations to be involved, but our focus is on dictatorships.
We believe that Taiwanese can play a key role in that by sharing their own story of how they got here and what they are doing now, such as how Taiwanese people are trying to change the public history of the country, so that young people are not learning about propaganda, but are learning about real history.
TT: You have spoken quite positively about Taiwan’s democracy. Are there areas where you think the country could make a better effort?
Gladstein: No country is perfect. Taiwanese society has a lot of problems, like the economy and jobs. There are promises of gay rights, but it has not happened yet. There is also the death penalty issue.
If Taiwan actually makes same-sex marriage operational, it will be the first of hopefully many [in the region]. It is the same way in the US, where one state legalized same-sex marriage and then it started to spread.
You are going to see the same thing in Asia, hopefully, but Taiwan has to be the first. You can lead the way. If Taiwan is successful, it will be an indicator for the region and others will try to copy it.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
RSS