Former UN Human Rights Commission chairman Nisuke Ando praised Taiwan as a model of democracy for China and said the public must pressure the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration not to return the country to the totalitarian system of the White Terror period.
Ando was among several international human rights advocates to speak at the International Human Rights Conference in Kaohsiung on Wednesday last week, the 60th anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
MESSAGE TO TAIWAN
“The reason why I accepted the invitation was to send a message to the Taiwanese people that they must watch the current government carefully to make sure [that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九)] does not revert back to the Chiang Kai-shek [蔣介石] period,” Ando said in an interview with the Taipei Times one day after the conference.
Ando recalled a visit he made to Taiwan in 1968.
He said he was stopped at customs by authorities who checked his belongings thoroughly to make sure he had not brought any Japanese newspapers.
DISILLUSIONED
When Japan lost sovereignty over Taiwan, the Taiwanese thought Chiang’s KMT was coming to liberate them from colonial domination, he said, “but the exact opposite happened.”
Ando said many Taiwanese were still disillusioned with the KMT.
“Of course Ma was elected by the Taiwanese people, but if he starts to suppress personal liberty and [other freedoms], I am very much against it,” Ando said.
In the last presidential election, voters chose to change the party in power. That switch represented the essence of democracy, Ando said, which is that the public can pressure the government to change.
If the government does not change, voters can change the government through peaceful means, he said.
“Taiwan’s direct and open elections serve as a model of democracy for China. This is why Ma, by any means, must never turn back,” Ando said.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
The public, he said, must shoulder the responsibility of protecting their freedoms by keeping a close watch on the government and voicing anger and dissatisfaction in peaceful ways, such as by voting.
Asked what Ando thought about critics who say Ma has not shown backbone in dealing with Beijing and is damaging the nation’s sovereignty, Ando said: “Reconciliation is necessary, especially in international politics, but Ma must never lose sight of the essence of [the] democratic achievements Taiwan has accomplished.”
NO SACRIFICE NEEDED
There are ways for Taiwan to maintain relations with China without sacrificing its independence, he said, adding that Taiwan, according to the definition outlined by the UN and in various international laws, constituted an independent country.
Taiwan’s exclusion from the UN is not a legal issue but a political issue, Ando said.
The key is persuading China to allow Taiwan to participate, since Beijing is the biggest roadblock to involvement in the international community.
He said it would be extremely difficult for Taiwan to be accepted as a full member at the UN and other major international organizations unless Taipei somehow persuaded Beijing to allow it, or agreed to become a “special administrative region” like Hong Kong and Macau, which would be “totally unacceptable” to most Taiwanese.
SHOW THE WORLD
The solution to the dilemma, he said, is for Taiwan to be patient and continue to show the world the fruits of its democratization.
Eventually, “the facts will prevail,” he said.
Taiwan’s youth, he said, must also learn to appreciate freedom and the system they enjoy today, especially compared with young people in China.
Ando said that Taiwan should also use non-governmental organizations that do humanitarian work to help change the hearts and minds of the people across the Taiwan Strait, he said.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with