Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday called for a swift and overall policy revamp to deal with what she called a regression in Taiwan’s human rights.
“Taiwan’s human rights situation has significantly regressed in recent months, partly because of a flawed system and partly because of the mindset of the nation’s rulers and law enforcement authorities,” Tsai said, adding that “the two facets are of great significance to a progressive society.”
Tsai made the comments prior to a sports meet sponsored by a Taipei City association of builders and contractors.
PHOTO: WANG SHU-HUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
‘CRITICAL MESSAGE’
The US-based non-governmental organization Freedom House urged the Taiwanese government on Thursday to form an independent panel to investigate violent clashes early this month between police and protesters who were demonstrating over a visit by Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林). Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor said that such an investigation would “send a critical message that the new government of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is interested in upholding the democratic values of transparency and accountability.”
Later yesterday, Tsai took part in two rallies held to address the human rights of those facing prosecution, one in Taipei and another in Tainan.
The event in Taipei, organized by the office of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and several pro-independence groups, was held at Yuanshan Park in Taipei yesterday evening.
LED IN PRAYER
It began with a prayer led by Reverend Lo Rong-kuang (羅榮光), a minister with the Taiwan Presbyterian Church.
Tsai didn’t give a speech. She left shortly after the prayer and headed to the other event in Tainan, held by the DPP’s Tainan branch.
Thousands of people participated in the gathering in Taipei, calling for better protection of sovereignty, democracy, human rights and justice.
DPP heavyweights including former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and former DPP chairmen Yu Shyi-kun and Su Cheng-chang (蘇貞昌) also attended the rally.
Chen was detained on Nov. 12 on suspicion of money laundering, taking bribes, forgery and embezzlement during his two terms in office from 2000 until earlier this year. He has denied the allegations and immediately began a hunger strike when he was detained to protest what he called “political persecution.”
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RSS