US human rights activists have launched a campaign to free prominent Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波), whose case has become a cause celebre outside China.
The Washington Post carried an op-ed article on Thursday by Liu’s wife Liu Xia (劉霞) imploring US President Barack Obama to ask Beijing to free her husband.
The next day, the PEN American Center — part of an international organization promoting freedom of expression — named Liu the winner of this year’s PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.
Over the weekend there was also a series of lectures, speeches and marches across the US aimed at winning publicity for Liu’s plight.
Liu was one of the primary drafters of a document known as Charter 08 calling for comprehensive political reform in China, including the establishment of a democratic government and the protection of universally recognized human rights.
He was arrested at his home in Beijing on Dec. 8 and remains in police custody even though no charges have been brought against him.
Twelve days after Liu’s arrest, civic groups in Taiwan urged Beijing to release him, to respect freedom of speech and to embrace the terms of Charter 08, which they said “will be beneficial to China’s democratic development and the welfare of its citizens.”
They also called on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to openly support Chinese dissidents to demonstrate that Taiwan was “a beacon of human rights and civic freedoms in East Asia.”
“Taiwan cannot focus just on economic and animal exchanges with China and ignore its role in promoting human rights, democracy and freedom in China,” said Yang Chang-chen (楊長鎮), head of the Deng Liberty Foundation in Taiwan.
Anthony Appiah, president of the PEN American Center, said in a New York speech this weekend: “The liberties that allow all of us to make meaningful lives have always depended, alas, on those who are willing, like Liu Xiaobo, to put their own freedom at risk. I am filled with admiration — indeed, with awe — each time I read about the extraordinary things he has done.”
Ian Buruma, a professor of human rights at Bard College in New York State, recently wrote that Liu was “one of the most lucid Chinese intellectuals.”
He said: “The Communist government managed to stay in power after the Tiananmen Square protest in 1989 not just through brute force. A semblance of political legitimacy, especially among the educated middle class, was purchased with the promise of greater wealth.
“But if this arrangement collapses and increasing material prosperity can no longer be taken for granted, many unpleasant things could happen. Rural areas and industrial cities might explode in massive riots,” he said.
Buruma said that China should follow the example of South Korea, Japan and Taiwan and join the “mainstream of civilized nations.”
In her plea to Obama, Liu Xia said: “I fear that the government is preparing to stage a show trial and convict my husband of ‘inciting the subversion of state power,’ a charge frequently leveled against political dissidents and one that typically carries a lengthy prison sentence.
“My husband has done nothing wrong, and his imprisonment is a great tragedy not only for me but also for the countless people of my country who lack a voice but share his desire to see China become a free, democratic nation,” she said.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
RSS