A group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday called for a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to protest against a Chinese government policy that would bar 43 categories of "unwanted" people from attending the games.
The Chinese Ministry of Public Security issued a directive to its agencies around the country in early April demanding strict background checks for anyone who applies for entry into the country ahead of the Olympics, the lawmakers said.
The directive lists Falun Gong practitioners, activists for an independent Xinjiang or Tibet, religious extremists and other categories of dissidents among those who will not be allowed to enter the country, they said.
"The whole world should refuse to be part of the games because the Chinese government initiated its boycott first," Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), a DPP legislator-at-large nominee in January's legislative elections, said at a press conference.
Twu said "people of conscience" would be barred from entry.
"Who would support the kind of government that has used its authority to ruthlessly eliminate anyone who is not behind it?" Twu said.
DPP Legislator William Lai (
The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG) is planning to hold a global human rights torch relay to draw attention to allegations of human-rights abuses.
The alternative torch relay is set to kick off in Greece next Thursday and cover more than a hundred cities in dozens of countries on five continents.
It will arrive in Taiwan next June.
The CIPFG was formed last year to enable persons around the world to help investigate the persecution of Falun Gong members in China.
Also present at the appeal yesterday was Rinzin Tsering, the chairman of the Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association representing Tibetans in Taiwan.
He voiced his support for a group of 14 Tibetans in India who have been on a hunger strike since July 8.
The group is demanding accountability from China for its gross violations of basic human rights and freedoms in Tibet, Tsering said.
"[The hunger strike] is a message of support for the freedom of Tibet and our people's determination to fight for our cause to the end," he said.
He appealed to the international community to convince politicians and governments to pressure Beijing to respect human rights.
He also said that holding the Olympics in China was an injustice to the millions of people who have suffered under the Chinese regime and a betrayal of Olympic principles, as the event should be for people who love peace, friendship, human rights and democracy.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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