In an entry on the micro-blogging service Plurk on Monday, Plurk founder Alvin Woon said the social networking site had recently received letters from the police and prosecutors seeking personal information on, and the IP addresses of, Plurkers.
In his entry, Woon wondered about due process and privacy laws in Taiwan.
After the news broke, some people quickly came to the government’s defense, saying the incident had nothing to do with the erosion of democracy that some of the government’s detractors claim has occurred since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) came into office.
The group criticized those who took the report seriously, saying they were blowing the incident out of proportion in a naked attempt to turn an otherwise non-political matter into a political one.
Indeed, the matter should not be seen in terms of “blue” or “green,” but rather as “white,” which suggests intimidation. Both pan-blue and pan-green supporters would be intimidated if Netizens’ right to privacy is not respected.
Failure to treat the incident with the seriousness that it deserves could blind people to the fact that it may be a precursor of the shape of things to come — a new “white terror” in which freedom of speech comes under assault.
The case of Chinese journalist Shih Tao (師濤) is a vivid reminder of the need for vigilance in these times of uncertainty. Shih was sentenced to 10 years in prison after Beijing asked Yahoo to provide personal information on dissidents.
To be fair, combating online crime could be a valid reason for police and prosecutors to make inquiries with Internet service providers. However, with police refusing to provide any information on the case or justification as to why IP addresses were needed, one can speculate that the government, shaken by recent instances of Netizens using aggressive language to vent their dissatisfaction with the political situation in Taiwan, may have decided to act — even if this entails intruding on Web users’ privacy.
This has echoes of an incident in April last year, in which the Taipei City Government’s police department dispatched officers to a private gathering organized by the Taiwan Blogger Association. The officers asked the participants to show their IDs and provide cellphone numbers, and inquired as to what they were doing and who else was taking part in the gathering.
That incident sparked much public criticism, forcing the director of the department to apologize and assure that “any personnel found guilty of misconduct would be disciplined accordingly.”
Undermining Netizens’ privacy is a serious offense in a democracy. Until police and prosecutors provide a sound explanation as to why they needed personal information about Plurk users, it will be the responsibility of each and every one of us to make as much noise as possible to show that we will not allow our freedoms and liberties to be undermined illegally.
In too many instances the world over, people looked the other way while their freedoms were being gradually eroded by governments that thought they could get away with it. Isolated incidents may be just that, but when they are repeated one begins to see a pattern emerging. When that happens, alarms should go off, because such patterns often indicate intent.
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
It is being said every second day: The ongoing recall campaign in Taiwan — where citizens are trying to collect enough signatures to trigger re-elections for a number of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators — is orchestrated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), or even President William Lai (賴清德) himself. The KMT makes the claim, and foreign media and analysts repeat it. However, they never show any proof — because there is not any. It is alarming how easily academics, journalists and experts toss around claims that amount to accusing a democratic government of conspiracy — without a shred of evidence. These
Taiwan is confronting escalating threats from its behemoth neighbor. Last month, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conducted live-fire drills in the East China Sea, practicing blockades and precision strikes on simulated targets, while its escalating cyberattacks targeting government, financial and telecommunication systems threaten to disrupt Taiwan’s digital infrastructure. The mounting geopolitical pressure underscores Taiwan’s need to strengthen its defense capabilities to deter possible aggression and improve civilian preparedness. The consequences of inadequate preparation have been made all too clear by the tragic situation in Ukraine. Taiwan can build on its successful COVID-19 response, marked by effective planning and execution, to enhance
Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has upheld the core goals of “making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous,” fully implementing an “America first” policy. Countries have responded cautiously to the fresh style and rapid pace of the new Trump administration. The US has prioritized reindustrialization, building a stronger US role in the Indo-Pacific, and countering China’s malicious influence. This has created a high degree of alignment between the interests of Taiwan and the US in security, economics, technology and other spheres. Taiwan must properly understand the Trump administration’s intentions and coordinate, connect and correspond with US strategic goals.
RSS