On the eve of the 21st anniversary of China’s Tiananmen Square Massacre, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday urged China to learn a lesson from the incident and prevent similar occurrences.
It also urged the two sides to jointly advance the development of democracy, freedom and human rights.
“It will benefit the sustainable peace, stability and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait,” the council said in a statement issued last night.
Saying that democracy, freedom and human rights are universal values, the council said it hoped that as China improves its economy, it will also make its politics more democratic and society more open and diverse. It also hoped to see the Chinese people live a life that is happier and more dignified, adding that it hoped the Chinese government would take a look at history, learn a lesson from it and never let anything similar happen again.
The council said Taiwan’s democratization process had been shaky, but it has made great strides since 1987 when martial law was lifted.
To show his resolve to protect human rights, the statement said that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had signed two UN human rights covenants into law and promised to complete amending related measures and regulations by next year to conform to the two conventions.
MAC Chairperson Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) said in the statement that as China becomes an economic powerhouse, the world hopes to see China reform its civil society and create an environment that will let its people live a happier and more dignified life.
“The key to the harmonic development of the mainland society and sustainable peace and prosperity on both sides of the Taiwan Strait is to re-examine the cause of the incident, its course and outcome,” she said.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
RSS