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Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Amnesty International Statement on upcoming December 7 student protests
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL • PUBLIC STATEMENT
AI Index No: ASA 38/001/2008
3 December 2008
Taiwan: Police should avoid using excessive force at upcoming protests
Amnesty International has urged Taiwan's police force to comply with international guidelines on the use of force and crowd control at the planned student protests on Sunday 7 December.
The organization also joins calls for the Control Yuan, the body mandated by the Taiwan Constitution with supervisory power over the Executive branch, to conduct an independent inquiry into alleged excessive police force during November's protests.
The Wild Strawberry Student Movement has staged sit-ins since 6 November to protest against what they consider the use of excessive force during the Taiwan visit of Chen Yunlin, chairman of the China-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait. Civil society groups in Taiwan are investigating multiple claims that individuals suffered head injuries and broken fingers at the hands of police during the protests.
According to police reports on 8 November, approximately 10,000 police officers had been deployed during Chen's visit; 149 police officers and 200-300 individuals were injured; 18 were arrested.
Taiwanese civil society groups claim that police have applied the Assembly and Parade Law arbitrarily to silence dissent. According to the students' spokesperson, they will not seek police approval, as required by the law, but will only "report" their plans to law enforcement authorities, in line with amendments advocated by the Movement.
The Movement is organizing the protest on Sunday 7 December to criticize the government's failure to amend the Assembly and Parade Law.
Amnesty International said Taiwan's Control Yuan should address the serious concerns raised by civil society in Taiwan and the government should cease the practice of using the Assembly and Parade Law to deny freedom of assembly and allow individuals to protest peacefully. Amnesty International also called on Taiwanese police and judicial authorities to ensure that they investigate any protesters accused of engaging in violence in a fair, transparent, and timely manner in compliance with international standards.
Background
On 3-7 November 2008, Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, led a 60-member delegation from the People's Republic of China to visit Taiwan and meet with President Ma Ying-jeou.
The police barred protesters displaying Taiwanese and Tibetan flags and anti-China slogans along the routes taken by the envoy and confiscated or damaged some of these items. The police also closed a shop near the hotel where Chen Yunlin had dinner with Kuomintang honorary chairman Lien Chan when the shop loudly broadcast music from an album titled 'Songs of Taiwan'.
There were additional reports of arbitrary detention and police brutality, some of which, according to the police, were in response to the violence of protesters.
Following the visit, hundreds of students have staged sit-ins across Taiwan protesting the police's handling of the protests and demanding amendments to the Assembly and Parade Law, which has been misused to prevent protests.
On 6 November the students started their sit-ins outside the offices of the Executive Yuan or (Executive branch), where they were eventually removed by police on the grounds of illegal assembly. They continued the sit-ins at the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall and organized a daily demonstration calling for immediate amendments to the Assembly and Parade Law, apologies from the president and head of government and the resignations of the heads of the police and national security.
On 18 November Taipei police announced a list of 66 "troublemakers", who had allegedly thrown gas bombs and stones at the police and spat at the Taichung mayor. There were also reports that the police had pressured journalists and their supervisors to hand over video tapes to identify suspects who allegedly took part in the violence.
END/ Public Document
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK
www.amnesty.org
AI Index No: ASA 38/001/2008
3 December 2008
Taiwan: Police should avoid using excessive force at upcoming protests
Amnesty International has urged Taiwan's police force to comply with international guidelines on the use of force and crowd control at the planned student protests on Sunday 7 December.
The organization also joins calls for the Control Yuan, the body mandated by the Taiwan Constitution with supervisory power over the Executive branch, to conduct an independent inquiry into alleged excessive police force during November's protests.
The Wild Strawberry Student Movement has staged sit-ins since 6 November to protest against what they consider the use of excessive force during the Taiwan visit of Chen Yunlin, chairman of the China-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait. Civil society groups in Taiwan are investigating multiple claims that individuals suffered head injuries and broken fingers at the hands of police during the protests.
According to police reports on 8 November, approximately 10,000 police officers had been deployed during Chen's visit; 149 police officers and 200-300 individuals were injured; 18 were arrested.
Taiwanese civil society groups claim that police have applied the Assembly and Parade Law arbitrarily to silence dissent. According to the students' spokesperson, they will not seek police approval, as required by the law, but will only "report" their plans to law enforcement authorities, in line with amendments advocated by the Movement.
The Movement is organizing the protest on Sunday 7 December to criticize the government's failure to amend the Assembly and Parade Law.
Amnesty International said Taiwan's Control Yuan should address the serious concerns raised by civil society in Taiwan and the government should cease the practice of using the Assembly and Parade Law to deny freedom of assembly and allow individuals to protest peacefully. Amnesty International also called on Taiwanese police and judicial authorities to ensure that they investigate any protesters accused of engaging in violence in a fair, transparent, and timely manner in compliance with international standards.
Background
On 3-7 November 2008, Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, led a 60-member delegation from the People's Republic of China to visit Taiwan and meet with President Ma Ying-jeou.
The police barred protesters displaying Taiwanese and Tibetan flags and anti-China slogans along the routes taken by the envoy and confiscated or damaged some of these items. The police also closed a shop near the hotel where Chen Yunlin had dinner with Kuomintang honorary chairman Lien Chan when the shop loudly broadcast music from an album titled 'Songs of Taiwan'.
There were additional reports of arbitrary detention and police brutality, some of which, according to the police, were in response to the violence of protesters.
Following the visit, hundreds of students have staged sit-ins across Taiwan protesting the police's handling of the protests and demanding amendments to the Assembly and Parade Law, which has been misused to prevent protests.
On 6 November the students started their sit-ins outside the offices of the Executive Yuan or (Executive branch), where they were eventually removed by police on the grounds of illegal assembly. They continued the sit-ins at the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall and organized a daily demonstration calling for immediate amendments to the Assembly and Parade Law, apologies from the president and head of government and the resignations of the heads of the police and national security.
On 18 November Taipei police announced a list of 66 "troublemakers", who had allegedly thrown gas bombs and stones at the police and spat at the Taichung mayor. There were also reports that the police had pressured journalists and their supervisors to hand over video tapes to identify suspects who allegedly took part in the violence.
END/ Public Document
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK
www.amnesty.org
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Learning from the History of Other Nations -- Ireland
Ireland and Taiwan do indeed have many historical parallels.
See the article below. (Used with Permission) - DEMO!
===============================
[St. Patrick's Day and Taiwan
- by Joel H. Linton
St. Patrick's Day celebrates a modern nation that almost did not come to existence one hundred years ago. You see, Ireland had been absorbed by the British Empire for a long time. An alien language, English, had been forced on the inhabitants, and the Irish speakers had been ostracized as "country bumpkins" and penalized when they spoke their native mother tongue. In the British Empire's attempt to solidify its grip on the island nation of Ireland, they tried to remove any respect for the cultural and linguistic elements that made the Irish distinct from the English. Many will see the similarity to what the Japanese and KMT regimes tried to do in Taiwan beginning in 1895 through 1987.
By the late 1800's there was a question whether Ireland would forever be absorbed by the British empire and her native tongue would be silenced forever. It had already lost the majority of its population to emmigration. The economic depression that was partly due to the Empire's policies toward Ireland and partly due to the Irish potato famine caused huge numbers to flee to the United States and make a new life there.
What would bring Ireland back from the brink of oblivion?
"The most important move towards revitalizing nationalism [in Ireland] came, ironically, not through the groups formed for strictly political reasons. One evening in 1893, seven men met in a small room in Dublin. They were all [Irish] Gaelic scholars with mutual concern to preserve the language. To this end they decided to form a cultural society which was to be called the Gaelic League. The two leading lights of the society, Eoin MacNeill and Douglas Hyde, could not have forseen the enormous implications of the movement which, as well as preserving Ireland's cultural heritage, was destined to become the most important source of inspiration in the Irish fight for independence." (p. 124)
They had their own paper, the GAELIC JOURNAL, which carried stories in both English and modern Irish. One of its sections gave lessons in basic Irish. That might not seem to be much. But it steadily became popular to be able to speak Irish. The Gaelic League had branches also among the emmigrant populations in other countries, including the U.S. People began to unite around being "Irish".
"The Gaelic League was giving the country an identity, a difference which justified her becoming independent." (p. 124)
There was another group that had been established close to the same time. In 1884, some men founded the Gaelic Athletic Association, to protect and promote traditional Irish games which were in danger of being lost due to the introduction and promotion of English sports.
"So, by the end of the nineteenth century, there were two powerful groups, one intellectual, the other athletic, with a highly developed awareness of being Irish. Meanwhile, in the Parliament [of the British Empire] they were pursuing a policy of "Killing Home Rule by Kindness," by introducing liberal reforms in Ireland." (p. 126)
(Now does this not sound familiar to any of you who look at the later years of the KMT military dictatorship under Chiang Ching-Guo or the current attitude some of the time coming out of communist China?)
This included a land reform act in 1903 that caused tenant farmers to be able to purchase land on easy terms.
Although finally in around 1914, when Britain was getting into World War I, there was a "Home Rule Bill" going through Parliament, the Irish nationalists began to recruit and train an army secretly. They took over the General Post Office in Dublin and put up a banner proclaiming The Irish Republic with a new flag.
The push for independence did not result in a full-scale war for independence, but the presence of their own army committed to the Irish cause undoubtedly gave them the courage to declare independence.
Military strength may not lead to war, but to a prevention of war. The foreign army will decide not to invade. And the new nation will have the confidence of the people to break free, and take responsibility for itself and finally declare formal independence.
It is no surprise that those wanting to force unification with China would seek to and continually block the ability for Taiwan to build up its military strength.
Three things to put in place: Linguistic Respect. Cultural Respect. and Respect of the Ability of Self Defense. In this sad day and age, military strength is a necessary part of deterrence of aggressive neighbors. You must be ready for war to prevent war from even starting.
If Taiwan had these three, they would feel free to declare once and for all formal independence, and not fear that China would try to invade. Although Taiwan is independent now and has its own military, that military strength is steadily eroding.
Taiwan has the money. They could upgrade their military. But Taiwan does not yet have the will. That will comes from a cultural transformation to respect for being Taiwanese, whether descendents of the first inhabitants Austronesian peoples, Hoklo, Hakka, or a recent immigrant Mandarin speakers.
Let St. Patrick's Day be a reminder to all of us to get working. Any suggestions? Did any of you catch a vision?
Funny how the color of Ireland is the color of Taiwan independence.
Please forward this letter to anyone whom you think would benefit from it. Also, maybe next St. Patrick's Day, we can convince either the government of Taiwan or high profile organizations, or academic institutions like NTU, NTNU, and Academia Sinica to invite high profile scholars from Ireland to come speak on this historic time in Irish History, --- the topic "How Ireland was able to become Free and Independent from the British Empire" That's one idea we could implement. Do you have any others?
(written Saint Patrick's Day 2006)
..........................................................
NOTE: the quotes above are from Your Irish Ancestors by J. Anderson Black, © 1974 Paddington Press Ltd. New York
For further reading on language's impact on nations, see: Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler
An interview, a review, the publisher]
=======================================
There are two movies that help explore the agony and disagreements that accompanied the fight for freedom in Ireland. Some wanted to be more conciliatory and gradual; some wanted a definite, clear and complete break.
Michael Collins (1996) 邁克爾Collins
The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006) 震動大麥的風
=======================================
Links:
taiwanchurch.org/taibun
Siá Tâi-Oân ê Oē
Taiwanese Identity
See the article below. (Used with Permission) - DEMO!
===============================
[St. Patrick's Day and Taiwan
- by Joel H. Linton
St. Patrick's Day celebrates a modern nation that almost did not come to existence one hundred years ago. You see, Ireland had been absorbed by the British Empire for a long time. An alien language, English, had been forced on the inhabitants, and the Irish speakers had been ostracized as "country bumpkins" and penalized when they spoke their native mother tongue. In the British Empire's attempt to solidify its grip on the island nation of Ireland, they tried to remove any respect for the cultural and linguistic elements that made the Irish distinct from the English. Many will see the similarity to what the Japanese and KMT regimes tried to do in Taiwan beginning in 1895 through 1987.
By the late 1800's there was a question whether Ireland would forever be absorbed by the British empire and her native tongue would be silenced forever. It had already lost the majority of its population to emmigration. The economic depression that was partly due to the Empire's policies toward Ireland and partly due to the Irish potato famine caused huge numbers to flee to the United States and make a new life there.
What would bring Ireland back from the brink of oblivion?
"The most important move towards revitalizing nationalism [in Ireland] came, ironically, not through the groups formed for strictly political reasons. One evening in 1893, seven men met in a small room in Dublin. They were all [Irish] Gaelic scholars with mutual concern to preserve the language. To this end they decided to form a cultural society which was to be called the Gaelic League. The two leading lights of the society, Eoin MacNeill and Douglas Hyde, could not have forseen the enormous implications of the movement which, as well as preserving Ireland's cultural heritage, was destined to become the most important source of inspiration in the Irish fight for independence." (p. 124)
They had their own paper, the GAELIC JOURNAL, which carried stories in both English and modern Irish. One of its sections gave lessons in basic Irish. That might not seem to be much. But it steadily became popular to be able to speak Irish. The Gaelic League had branches also among the emmigrant populations in other countries, including the U.S. People began to unite around being "Irish".
"The Gaelic League was giving the country an identity, a difference which justified her becoming independent." (p. 124)
There was another group that had been established close to the same time. In 1884, some men founded the Gaelic Athletic Association, to protect and promote traditional Irish games which were in danger of being lost due to the introduction and promotion of English sports.
"So, by the end of the nineteenth century, there were two powerful groups, one intellectual, the other athletic, with a highly developed awareness of being Irish. Meanwhile, in the Parliament [of the British Empire] they were pursuing a policy of "Killing Home Rule by Kindness," by introducing liberal reforms in Ireland." (p. 126)
(Now does this not sound familiar to any of you who look at the later years of the KMT military dictatorship under Chiang Ching-Guo or the current attitude some of the time coming out of communist China?)
This included a land reform act in 1903 that caused tenant farmers to be able to purchase land on easy terms.
Although finally in around 1914, when Britain was getting into World War I, there was a "Home Rule Bill" going through Parliament, the Irish nationalists began to recruit and train an army secretly. They took over the General Post Office in Dublin and put up a banner proclaiming The Irish Republic with a new flag.
The push for independence did not result in a full-scale war for independence, but the presence of their own army committed to the Irish cause undoubtedly gave them the courage to declare independence.
Military strength may not lead to war, but to a prevention of war. The foreign army will decide not to invade. And the new nation will have the confidence of the people to break free, and take responsibility for itself and finally declare formal independence.
It is no surprise that those wanting to force unification with China would seek to and continually block the ability for Taiwan to build up its military strength.
Three things to put in place: Linguistic Respect. Cultural Respect. and Respect of the Ability of Self Defense. In this sad day and age, military strength is a necessary part of deterrence of aggressive neighbors. You must be ready for war to prevent war from even starting.
If Taiwan had these three, they would feel free to declare once and for all formal independence, and not fear that China would try to invade. Although Taiwan is independent now and has its own military, that military strength is steadily eroding.
Taiwan has the money. They could upgrade their military. But Taiwan does not yet have the will. That will comes from a cultural transformation to respect for being Taiwanese, whether descendents of the first inhabitants Austronesian peoples, Hoklo, Hakka, or a recent immigrant Mandarin speakers.
Let St. Patrick's Day be a reminder to all of us to get working. Any suggestions? Did any of you catch a vision?
Funny how the color of Ireland is the color of Taiwan independence.
Please forward this letter to anyone whom you think would benefit from it. Also, maybe next St. Patrick's Day, we can convince either the government of Taiwan or high profile organizations, or academic institutions like NTU, NTNU, and Academia Sinica to invite high profile scholars from Ireland to come speak on this historic time in Irish History, --- the topic "How Ireland was able to become Free and Independent from the British Empire" That's one idea we could implement. Do you have any others?
(written Saint Patrick's Day 2006)
..........................................................
NOTE: the quotes above are from Your Irish Ancestors by J. Anderson Black, © 1974 Paddington Press Ltd. New York
For further reading on language's impact on nations, see: Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler
An interview, a review, the publisher]
=======================================
There are two movies that help explore the agony and disagreements that accompanied the fight for freedom in Ireland. Some wanted to be more conciliatory and gradual; some wanted a definite, clear and complete break.
Michael Collins (1996) 邁克爾Collins
The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006) 震動大麥的風
=======================================
Links:
taiwanchurch.org/taibun
Siá Tâi-Oân ê Oē
Taiwanese Identity
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Learning from the Losses of Other Nations - Scotland
Joel Linton writes ....
[Scotland's famous poet Robert Burns penned a lament for the loss of nationhood of his native Scotland, "Farewell to All Our Scottish Fame." Notice verse 2: "What force or guile could not subdue - Thro' many warlike ages, Is wrought now by a coward few, For hireling traitor's wages. The English steel we could disdain, Secure in valour's station; But English gold has been our bane - Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!" Burns analysis: Military force did not cause Scotland's downfall, but rather some of Scotland own people did. Too many did not value their freedom and independence but only focused on increasing their individual wealth. The allure of economic ties and integration proved a potent bait.
Take heed Taiwan! Missiles and threats from China will never conquer you. But selfish interests of a few traitors in power and the people who vote them in and cannot see beyond individual greed might mean the loss of your nation. Your freedom is at stake. Money is never worth the loss. What could China give you that you would barter away your freedom? When once the deed is done, China would take your freedom and your money and leave you a lap dog whining for your meal.
Perhaps Taiwan's film directors, music artists, composers, writers and poets can pen preemptive works that will instill in the Taiwanese a cultural grass-roots understanding of looking beyond short-term greed to the enduring value of the freedom of conscience, of expression, of assembly, of movement, of life decision that is integrally tied to a free and independent nation of Taiwan.
Where are Taiwan's high school teachers and university professors who will give assignments to Taiwanese students to explores these values? May it never be that a poet will have occasion to pen that Taiwan is "bought and sold for Chinese gold!"]
Fareweel To A'Our Scottish Fame
by Robert Burns (1791)
(1)
Fareweel to a' our Scottish fame,
Fareweel our ancient glory;
Fareweel ev'n to the Scottish name,
Sae famed in martial story!
Now Sark rins over Solway sands,
And Tweed rins to the ocean,
To mark where England's province stands -
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!
(2)
What force or guile could not subdue
Thro' many warlike ages,
Is wrought now by a coward few,
For hireling traitor's wages.
The English steel we could disdain,
Secure in valour's station;
But English gold has been our bane -
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!
(3)
O, would or I had seen the day
That treason thus could sell us,
My auld grey head had lien in clay
Wi' Bruce and loyal Wallace!
But pith and power, till my last hour,
I'll mak this declaration:
We're bought and sold for English gold -
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!
[Scotland's famous poet Robert Burns penned a lament for the loss of nationhood of his native Scotland, "Farewell to All Our Scottish Fame." Notice verse 2: "What force or guile could not subdue - Thro' many warlike ages, Is wrought now by a coward few, For hireling traitor's wages. The English steel we could disdain, Secure in valour's station; But English gold has been our bane - Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!" Burns analysis: Military force did not cause Scotland's downfall, but rather some of Scotland own people did. Too many did not value their freedom and independence but only focused on increasing their individual wealth. The allure of economic ties and integration proved a potent bait.
Take heed Taiwan! Missiles and threats from China will never conquer you. But selfish interests of a few traitors in power and the people who vote them in and cannot see beyond individual greed might mean the loss of your nation. Your freedom is at stake. Money is never worth the loss. What could China give you that you would barter away your freedom? When once the deed is done, China would take your freedom and your money and leave you a lap dog whining for your meal.
Perhaps Taiwan's film directors, music artists, composers, writers and poets can pen preemptive works that will instill in the Taiwanese a cultural grass-roots understanding of looking beyond short-term greed to the enduring value of the freedom of conscience, of expression, of assembly, of movement, of life decision that is integrally tied to a free and independent nation of Taiwan.
Where are Taiwan's high school teachers and university professors who will give assignments to Taiwanese students to explores these values? May it never be that a poet will have occasion to pen that Taiwan is "bought and sold for Chinese gold!"]
Fareweel To A'Our Scottish Fame
by Robert Burns (1791)
(1)
Fareweel to a' our Scottish fame,
Fareweel our ancient glory;
Fareweel ev'n to the Scottish name,
Sae famed in martial story!
Now Sark rins over Solway sands,
And Tweed rins to the ocean,
To mark where England's province stands -
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!
(2)
What force or guile could not subdue
Thro' many warlike ages,
Is wrought now by a coward few,
For hireling traitor's wages.
The English steel we could disdain,
Secure in valour's station;
But English gold has been our bane -
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!
(3)
O, would or I had seen the day
That treason thus could sell us,
My auld grey head had lien in clay
Wi' Bruce and loyal Wallace!
But pith and power, till my last hour,
I'll mak this declaration:
We're bought and sold for English gold -
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!
Friday, November 21, 2008
The KMT Ma administration's new vote-buying scheme
In the nation of Taiwan, instead of giving a simple tax cut, the currently extremely unpopular Ma Ying-jeou administration is trying what in essence amounts to buying votes for the KMT for the next election. The KMT will hand out money to people in the form of "consumer coupons" -- citizens just have to go to the polling stations to pick them up. At the polling stations!
Herein you can see an example of social conditioning to make Taiwanese think: voting for Ma Ying-jeou's KMT party means you can get money later on from the polling place where you cast the ballot for them. Every high school student studies Pavlov's experiment: ring the bell while you give the dog food. The dog eventually associates food with the sound of the bell. Finally, when the bell rings the dog will salivate whether there is food there or not. Ma has applied Pavlov's experiment on a grand scale to a grand new way of generalized vote buying. It will also make people more susceptible to accepting fully-fledged candidate-targeted vote buying come election time.
The Ma government and KMT legislators ran campaigns in the past election cycle on how much the DPP had bungled the economy and how much supposedly the KMT had masterfully run it during its dictatorship era and also in the 1990s. However this latest vote-buying scheme in all but name shows that the Ma government has no clue how to manage or improve the economy. But they are slick at propaganda and so have figured out how to turn a weak spot into political benefit. The only skill the KMT seems to exhibit is how to grab power and try to hold onto it (oh yes, and also take money from Taiwanese citizens via government and somehow transfer the assets into KMT party coffers or even individual KMT party leaders pockets, but avoid any corruption charges in the process.)
Taiwanese need to realize that the money they might get is not the KMT's money but instead their own money -- it is money taken from the very Taiwanese people who now are receiving it in the form of "consumer coupons." It is like the magic trickster who asked for a NT$1000 bill, waves it around, folds it up, and pulls it out of the volunteer's ear and ends up giving it back to the volunteer who produced it for the magic demonstration in the first place. If the volunteer leaves the place dazzled and feeling that he has walked away with a prize of NT$1000, he has been truly bewitched. People who love Taiwan will need to put extra effort in convincing coworkers, neighbors, family and friends of the true nature of this "handout" and exposing these kinds of KMT lies. Otherwise democracy will further be eroded as the KMT uses their propaganda tricks to keep a hold on power -- and on your money.
For more reading on this type of manipulation, please see the Taiwan Democracy Movement article on Throwing Off the Slave Mentality
Herein you can see an example of social conditioning to make Taiwanese think: voting for Ma Ying-jeou's KMT party means you can get money later on from the polling place where you cast the ballot for them. Every high school student studies Pavlov's experiment: ring the bell while you give the dog food. The dog eventually associates food with the sound of the bell. Finally, when the bell rings the dog will salivate whether there is food there or not. Ma has applied Pavlov's experiment on a grand scale to a grand new way of generalized vote buying. It will also make people more susceptible to accepting fully-fledged candidate-targeted vote buying come election time.
The Ma government and KMT legislators ran campaigns in the past election cycle on how much the DPP had bungled the economy and how much supposedly the KMT had masterfully run it during its dictatorship era and also in the 1990s. However this latest vote-buying scheme in all but name shows that the Ma government has no clue how to manage or improve the economy. But they are slick at propaganda and so have figured out how to turn a weak spot into political benefit. The only skill the KMT seems to exhibit is how to grab power and try to hold onto it (oh yes, and also take money from Taiwanese citizens via government and somehow transfer the assets into KMT party coffers or even individual KMT party leaders pockets, but avoid any corruption charges in the process.)
Taiwanese need to realize that the money they might get is not the KMT's money but instead their own money -- it is money taken from the very Taiwanese people who now are receiving it in the form of "consumer coupons." It is like the magic trickster who asked for a NT$1000 bill, waves it around, folds it up, and pulls it out of the volunteer's ear and ends up giving it back to the volunteer who produced it for the magic demonstration in the first place. If the volunteer leaves the place dazzled and feeling that he has walked away with a prize of NT$1000, he has been truly bewitched. People who love Taiwan will need to put extra effort in convincing coworkers, neighbors, family and friends of the true nature of this "handout" and exposing these kinds of KMT lies. Otherwise democracy will further be eroded as the KMT uses their propaganda tricks to keep a hold on power -- and on your money.
For more reading on this type of manipulation, please see the Taiwan Democracy Movement article on Throwing Off the Slave Mentality
Friday, November 14, 2008
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan speak out about the gravity of the situation
Please get the word out internationally -- events are reminiscent of the Formosa Magazine Kaohsiung Incident in 1979 and following... during the authoritarian era...
--------------------------------------------------
台 灣 基 督長 老 教 會 總 會
台 灣 10647 台 北 市 羅 斯 福 路 三 段 269 巷 3 號
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN TAIWAN
3, Lane 269, Roosevelt Road Sec. 3, Taipei 10647 TAIWAN
General Secretary: Rev. Andrew T. C. Chang
11 November 2008
AN APPEAL BY PCT TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH FAMILY FOR PRAYERS CONCERNING THE ABUSE OF JUSTICE AND VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN TAIWAN
On behalf of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) and out of unyielding concern for the dignity and selfhood of the 23 million people of our nation, as well as for peace in the Asia region, we sincerely appeal to you our sisters and brothers in Christ to join us in expressing concern and offering prayers for Taiwan.
Ever since the Legislative Elections of January 2008 when the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang KMT) garnered the overwhelming majority of seats and later the KMT candidate, Ma Ying-Jeou, won the Presidential Election on 20 May 2008, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT), along with many others in our land, have held deep concerns and reservations for the future of democracy and human rights in our country Taiwan.
Sadly, the performance of President Ma and his KMT administration the past six months has time and again underscored our fears. We in particular express our grave concern for recent events:
1) the detentions of both present and former government officials of the opposition party, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) accused of corruption. We understand one or two detainees have been charged but several accused are still held without being charged and incommunicado, this is a basic violation of due process of justice and rule of law. Furthermore, we are concerned the prosecutor’s office is seemingly leaking information to the press while the accused are unable to defend themselves. This “trial by press” also violates justice and the norm that any accused should be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Since only members of the DPP opposition party are targeted this action implies the KMT is “using” the justice system to retaliate the former government under Chen’s administration.
2) the visit to Taiwan (3-7 Nov 2008) of Mr. Chen Yun-Lin, Chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) from China; and the signing of the four cross-strait accords between the ARATS chairman Chen and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) represented by its Chairman, Chiang Pin-Kung. This action to develop direct aviation, shipping, market trade and economic relations with China accelerated fears that the methods used by the Ma Administration are costly in terms of the legal process, Taiwan’s dignity and sovereignty as well as being a real threat to democracy in Taiwan.
3) the violation of human rights, freedom of speech and expression, undergirded by the government’s action to deploy more than 10,000 police including riot police officers, to Taipei city to “guard” the visiting dignitary Chen and the sixty people who accompanied him. These measures to “guard and protect” the visiting envoy from China were excessive and disturbingly reminiscent of the dark years under Martial Law.
With this letter we add a brief overview of some of the events of last week that hopefully will help you further understand the reason for our concerns.
On behalf of the PCT and Taiwan, thank you for your support and we ask that you kindly share this prayer request with your church members.
Sincerely yours, in grace and peace
Rev. Chang Te-Chien (Andrew)
General Secretary
=================================
Taiwan 3-7 Nov 2008 during the visit of Mr. Chen Yun-Lin, Chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) from China and the signing of the four cross-strait accords between the ARATS chairman Chen and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) represented by its Chairman, Chiang Pin-Kung.
We cannot highlight fully the details here but draw your attention to some pointers that will hopefully, help clarify to you our deep concerns. Contrary to the claims of President Ma that he represents the views and interests of all the 23 million people of this country thousands of protestors gathered in Taipei daily to express their deep concern and opposition to the visit of ARATS, the legal process of signing the so called four cross-strait accords and the deployment of thousands of police.
Police prohibited protestors from waving or displaying the national flag and one CD shop was closed for playing Taiwanese music too loud in the vicinity of a hotel where Chen was dined. On the other hand, ironically those wielding the flag of communist China were not approached.
In a blatant attempt to avoid a scheduled protest by the DPP on Thursday 6 Nov. originally arranged to coincide with an afternoon meeting between President Ma and chairman Chen, the government at short notice brought the meeting forward to the morning and what was announced as 40 minutes audience was drastically reduced to 7 minutes before Chen and his entourage were whisked away to their next appointment. Such action did nothing but add fuel to fire.
The Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) also released a statement accusing the government of violating press freedom as they sought to cover the visit of ARATS Chen and there were incidents of news reporters beaten by the police during angry clashes with protestors. Members of the public also believed there were undercover persons mingling among the protestors instigating disruptive behavior.
The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) Church and Society Committee to protest the violation of human rights, to express our deep rooted concern for the safeguarding of Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy as well as upholding peace in our society, arranged a separate demonstration on Thursday (6 Nov) walking from Chinan Presybterian Church towards the Grand Hotel where Chen and the ARATS personnel were accommodated though they were not in. As was the practice all that week, inevitably, riot police barricading the road denied us access even to the vicinity of the hotel. PCT protestors simply sat down to sing and after a prayer for the police etc. we dispersed.
At this current time of writing, students in various locations in Taiwan are staging a sit in protest and have issued a written petition demanding (1) the President and Premier apologize for the use of excessive force by police, (2) that two senior police and security personnel step down and (3) that the government scrap the Parade and Assembly Law.
Prepared by The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT)
--------------------------------------------------
台 灣 基 督長 老 教 會 總 會
台 灣 10647 台 北 市 羅 斯 福 路 三 段 269 巷 3 號
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN TAIWAN
3, Lane 269, Roosevelt Road Sec. 3, Taipei 10647 TAIWAN
General Secretary: Rev. Andrew T. C. Chang
11 November 2008
AN APPEAL BY PCT TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH FAMILY FOR PRAYERS CONCERNING THE ABUSE OF JUSTICE AND VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN TAIWAN
On behalf of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) and out of unyielding concern for the dignity and selfhood of the 23 million people of our nation, as well as for peace in the Asia region, we sincerely appeal to you our sisters and brothers in Christ to join us in expressing concern and offering prayers for Taiwan.
Ever since the Legislative Elections of January 2008 when the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang KMT) garnered the overwhelming majority of seats and later the KMT candidate, Ma Ying-Jeou, won the Presidential Election on 20 May 2008, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT), along with many others in our land, have held deep concerns and reservations for the future of democracy and human rights in our country Taiwan.
Sadly, the performance of President Ma and his KMT administration the past six months has time and again underscored our fears. We in particular express our grave concern for recent events:
1) the detentions of both present and former government officials of the opposition party, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) accused of corruption. We understand one or two detainees have been charged but several accused are still held without being charged and incommunicado, this is a basic violation of due process of justice and rule of law. Furthermore, we are concerned the prosecutor’s office is seemingly leaking information to the press while the accused are unable to defend themselves. This “trial by press” also violates justice and the norm that any accused should be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Since only members of the DPP opposition party are targeted this action implies the KMT is “using” the justice system to retaliate the former government under Chen’s administration.
2) the visit to Taiwan (3-7 Nov 2008) of Mr. Chen Yun-Lin, Chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) from China; and the signing of the four cross-strait accords between the ARATS chairman Chen and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) represented by its Chairman, Chiang Pin-Kung. This action to develop direct aviation, shipping, market trade and economic relations with China accelerated fears that the methods used by the Ma Administration are costly in terms of the legal process, Taiwan’s dignity and sovereignty as well as being a real threat to democracy in Taiwan.
3) the violation of human rights, freedom of speech and expression, undergirded by the government’s action to deploy more than 10,000 police including riot police officers, to Taipei city to “guard” the visiting dignitary Chen and the sixty people who accompanied him. These measures to “guard and protect” the visiting envoy from China were excessive and disturbingly reminiscent of the dark years under Martial Law.
With this letter we add a brief overview of some of the events of last week that hopefully will help you further understand the reason for our concerns.
On behalf of the PCT and Taiwan, thank you for your support and we ask that you kindly share this prayer request with your church members.
Sincerely yours, in grace and peace
Rev. Chang Te-Chien (Andrew)
General Secretary
=================================
Taiwan 3-7 Nov 2008 during the visit of Mr. Chen Yun-Lin, Chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) from China and the signing of the four cross-strait accords between the ARATS chairman Chen and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) represented by its Chairman, Chiang Pin-Kung.
We cannot highlight fully the details here but draw your attention to some pointers that will hopefully, help clarify to you our deep concerns. Contrary to the claims of President Ma that he represents the views and interests of all the 23 million people of this country thousands of protestors gathered in Taipei daily to express their deep concern and opposition to the visit of ARATS, the legal process of signing the so called four cross-strait accords and the deployment of thousands of police.
Police prohibited protestors from waving or displaying the national flag and one CD shop was closed for playing Taiwanese music too loud in the vicinity of a hotel where Chen was dined. On the other hand, ironically those wielding the flag of communist China were not approached.
In a blatant attempt to avoid a scheduled protest by the DPP on Thursday 6 Nov. originally arranged to coincide with an afternoon meeting between President Ma and chairman Chen, the government at short notice brought the meeting forward to the morning and what was announced as 40 minutes audience was drastically reduced to 7 minutes before Chen and his entourage were whisked away to their next appointment. Such action did nothing but add fuel to fire.
The Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) also released a statement accusing the government of violating press freedom as they sought to cover the visit of ARATS Chen and there were incidents of news reporters beaten by the police during angry clashes with protestors. Members of the public also believed there were undercover persons mingling among the protestors instigating disruptive behavior.
The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) Church and Society Committee to protest the violation of human rights, to express our deep rooted concern for the safeguarding of Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy as well as upholding peace in our society, arranged a separate demonstration on Thursday (6 Nov) walking from Chinan Presybterian Church towards the Grand Hotel where Chen and the ARATS personnel were accommodated though they were not in. As was the practice all that week, inevitably, riot police barricading the road denied us access even to the vicinity of the hotel. PCT protestors simply sat down to sing and after a prayer for the police etc. we dispersed.
At this current time of writing, students in various locations in Taiwan are staging a sit in protest and have issued a written petition demanding (1) the President and Premier apologize for the use of excessive force by police, (2) that two senior police and security personnel step down and (3) that the government scrap the Parade and Assembly Law.
Prepared by The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Incremental Steps towards swamping Taiwan
As part of a Ma Ying-jeou administration implicit policy of incremental moves towards forcing Taiwan to be unified with China, the administration has begun to open up Taiwan's university system to students from China. Unfortunately, there is no way to control quality, to truly verify qualifications or degrees, to check for spies or other communist fifth column subversive PRC government agents, or any of many potential red flag issues.
Newcastle University in the UK recently had to expel 49 Chinese students who were discovered to have forged credentials and certificates.
Rather than rush to swamp Taiwan with Chinese ideologues, Taiwan's government should be careful to assess the societal and sovereignty impacts of these kinds of policies.
Newcastle University in the UK recently had to expel 49 Chinese students who were discovered to have forged credentials and certificates.
Rather than rush to swamp Taiwan with Chinese ideologues, Taiwan's government should be careful to assess the societal and sovereignty impacts of these kinds of policies.
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