Legislators across party lines yesterday announced that they were joining lawmakers from 80 countries in a worldwide signature campaign to show support for a group of exiled Myanmar parliamentarians who are fighting for democracy.
The legislators said Taiwan should lend a hand to the activists in the same way the international community helped push for democracy in Taiwan.
"Taiwan, which experienced what Myanmar has been going through over the past three decades, was eventually freed from autocracy. Today we are obligated to support the people of Myanmar and their struggle for democracy," said DPP Legislator Shih Ming-te (施明德), one of the main organizers of the signature drive in Taiwan.
Other co-initiators in the Legislative Yuan included Liu Sung-pan (
Shih said it was his goal to have all 221 legislators sign up, and as of yesterday he had managed to collect some 70 signatures.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. Though it held parliamentary elections in May 1990, the democratically elected representatives were denied their legitimate right to serve after the military government declared the results of the election null and void.
According to Amnesty International, more than 1,000 political activists were sent to prison in Myanmar in 1999 alone. As many of 55 elected lawmakers were incarcerated as of March. Five have died while in detention.
The "Worldwide Solidarity Campaign" was launched by a group of Myanmar lawmakers who were elected in 1990 but never allowed to take their seats, who now head the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma based in New Delhi, to mark the 10th anniversary of the 1990 parliamentary elections.
It aims to pressure the military government of Myanmar to release the imprisoned lawmakers immediately, recognize their right to convene parliament, end all violations of human rights on the people of Myanmar and engage in dialogue to achieve a peaceful transition to democracy.
Data from the National Coalition Government shows that a total of 1,026 lawmakers representing more than 80 countries, not including Taiwan, have signed their names as of July.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
NATURAL INTERRUPTION: As cables deteriorate, core wires snap in progression along the cable, which does not happen if they are hit by an anchor, an official said Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) immediately switched to a microwave backup system to maintain communications between Taiwan proper and Lienchiang County (Matsu) after two undersea cables malfunctioned due to natural deterioration, the Ministry of Digital Affairs told an emergency news conference yesterday morning. Two submarine cables connecting Taiwan proper and the outlying county — the No. 2 and No. 3 Taiwan-Matsu cables — were disconnected early yesterday morning and on Wednesday last week respectively, the nation’s largest telecom said. “After receiving the report that the No. 2 cable had failed, the ministry asked Chunghwa Telecom to immediately activate a microwave backup system, with
RSS