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.
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