Sat, May 30, 2009 page3

• Activists call for focus on democracy

  NEVER FORGET On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, activists are urging Taiwanese to stick to their democratic ideals

  • By Loa Iok-sin / STAFF REPORTER
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  Panning Taiwanese for their “collective amnesia,” human rights activists in Taipei yesterday urged the public to pay more attention to human rights in China as the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre approaches.

  “Twenty years ago, many Taiwanese were in tears as they watched the tanks roll into Beijing and students and residents bleeding on TV. Taiwanese politicians — in government and in the opposition — condemned the Chinese Communist Party while celebrities sang [for the demonstrators],” several rights activists said in an open letter released yesterday. “Twenty years later, it looks like the public suffers collective amnesia.”

  Among the signatories of the letter were Soochow University’s Chang Fo-chuan Center for the Study of Human Rights Professor Huang Mo (黃默), Amnesty International Taiwan chairman Peter Huang (黃文雄) and director Wang Hsing-chung (王興中), Taiwan Association for Human Rights ­secretary-general Tsai Chi-hsun (蔡季勳), Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty executive director Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡), as well as Deng Liberty Foundation executive director Yiong Cong-ziin (楊長鎮) and office director Li Jieh-mei (李介媚).

  While the media and governments praise economic development and scenic areas in China, “we seem to forget that, over the past 20 years, this country has been — and still is — ruled by dictatorship,” the statement said.

  “Some of the people who took part in the 1989 demonstration for democracy [in Tiananmen Square] are still in jail or in exile,” it said. “At every corner in China, people are being arrested and locked up for speaking for human rights and protecting minorities. Are we still going to turn a blind eye to these developments?”

  The activists said the decision on whether to continue monitoring developments in human rights in China was a test of Taiwanese people’s belief in democracy and human rights.

  “As citizens of a country that fought hard for its democracy, we believe that democracy and human rights are universal values. As we strive to improve our own democracy, we should also care about human rights and democracy in neighboring countries and stand in solidarity with democracy fighters there,” the statement said.

  However, economic interests have gained the upper hand, the activists said, adding that the Chinese government only focused on making money while muting calls for political reform. As Taiwan develops closer ties with China, such twisted values seem to have influenced Taiwanese as well, they said.

  “In the atmosphere of reconciliation in cross-strait relations, ‘human rights’ have become taboo,” the statement said. “It would be a betrayal of our democratic ideals if we were to forget about human rights and democracy for fear of upsetting China.”

  “As the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre approaches, we call on all Taiwanese to join activists around the world in calling on China to prosecute those who are responsible for the Tiananmen Square Massacre and push for democracy in China,” the statement said.
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