Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday appealed to the international community to maintain its concern for the development of human rights and democracy in China.
He also said the Chinese people were welcome to learn from the Taiwan experience, especially the holding of direct elections.
"The Chinese people should enjoy the same universal rights of democracy, diversity and freedom that Taiwan upholds," Yu said. "The government sincerely invites the Chinese people to bear witness to Taiwan's democratic system, including the legislative elections at the end of the year, which can lay the foundations for China's democratization and peaceful ascent [onto the world stage]."
Marking the 15th anniversary of 1989's Tiananmen Square Massacre on behalf of Yu, Cabinet Spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) urged Beijing to allow truth to be restored to China's historical record.
"The incident's significance lies in the fact that people on both sides of the Strait are trying to bring about democratic systems. Democracy, which has already become a part of `Taiwanese values,' can also become a core value of Chinese culture," he said.
"Only a diverse and democratic society can meet the expectations of the people -- on both sides," Chen said.
Chen noted remarks by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in his inauguration speech that the first two decades of this century would be crucial for national development and for China's liberalization.
"Yet," Chen Chi-mai said, "although this year is the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the behavior of Beijing, which has included a military crackdown on civilians in 1989, Internet restrictions and its general dictatorial manner, remains unchanged.
"Moreover, the freedom and democracy requested by the Chinese people has not been brought about and the country's human rights record has failed to make concrete progress," he said.
Chen Chi-mai said that Taiwan hoped China would undertake a thorough review of policies to protect the basic freedoms of speech and assembly.
"President Chen suggested that both sides should form a dynamic peace framework for cross-strait interaction and maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait ... [They] should also improve cultural and economic interaction, especially the three direct links," he said.
The Taipei Zoo on Saturday said it would pursue legal action against a man who was filmed climbing over a railing to tease and feed spotted hyenas in their enclosure earlier that day. In videos uploaded to social media on Saturday, a man can be seen climbing over a protective railing and approaching a ledge above the zoo’s spotted hyena enclosure, before dropping unidentified objects down to two of the animals. The Taipei Zoo in a statement said the man’s actions were “extremely inappropriate and even illegal.” In addition to monitoring the hyenas’ health, the zoo would collect evidence provided by the public
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
A road safety advocacy group yesterday called for reforms to the driver licensing and retraining system after a pedestrian was killed and 15 other people were injured in a two-bus collision in Taipei. “Taiwan’s driver’s licenses are among the easiest to obtain in the world, and there is no mandatory retraining system for drivers,” Taiwan Vision Zero Alliance, a group pushing to reduce pedestrian fatalities, said in a news release. Under the regulations, people who have held a standard car driver’s license for two years and have completed a driver training course are eligible to take a test
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
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