Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday proposed a resolution to condemn China amid reports that Beijing seeks to arrest DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏楊) for plotting “secession” from China.
Writing in the motion, the DPP caucus said that Beijing’s escalating campaign of intimidation poses an intolerable threat to national security, public safety and the rules-based international order.
Lawmakers from across the political divide are urged to unite in issuing the strongest possible condemnation for China’s attempt to criminalize Shen’s representation of his constituents and spread fear among Taiwanese, it said.
Photo: CNA
The resolution must emphasize that China has no jurisdiction in Taiwan and cannot prevent Taiwanese from engaging in activities by legal sanctions, it said.
Taiwanese enjoy inalienable rights and freedoms under the Constitution, which is not subject to China’s whims, it said.
Under the resolution, lawmakers would pledge to facilitate the government’s efforts to bolster Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities, cooperation with global partners and measures to safeguard national sovereignty.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency last month reported that Shen is being probed by the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau on allegations of “secession-related” criminal activities, including launching the civil defense organization Kuma Academy.
On Thursday, Chinese police issued a wanted notice for YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝), also known as Pa Chiung (八炯), and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源) for committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing.
DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said the DPP proposed the motion after Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) refused to issue a non-partisan condemnation of Beijing’s tactics.
The resolution has a slew of procedural hurdles to overcome and the DPP does not rule out that it could be killed before entering the legislature’s agenda, she said.
Lawmakers cannot afford to turn a blind eye to China’s attempt to silence political opponents outside of its sovereign territories when the UN has already condemned the practice as a form of human rights abuse, Wu said.
Lawmakers have a responsibility to speak up for the rights of Taiwanese before the global community, she said.
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
RSS