Three men accused of throwing red paint on Lam Wing-kei (林榮基), a former manager of Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay Books, at a coffee shop in Taipei were released on bail on Thursday, and a separate individual posted a threat against Lam on the Mainland Affairs Council’s Facebook page.
Although someone had earlier warned Lam that the name of his new bookstore in Taipei was similar to one registered to another store (suggesting that this was a motive for the attack), it was discovered that the competing bookstore was likely a shell company registered to an entity in China.
These actions are just the latest in a series of attacks targeting pro-democracy Hong Kongers in Taiwan over the past few years. On Sept. 29 last year, Hong Kong singer and democracy campaigner Denise Ho (何韻詩) was attacked with red paint while speaking at a rally in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, and on Jan. 7, 2017, Hong Kong lawmakers Edward Yiu (姚松炎), Nathan Law (羅冠聰) and Eddie Chu (朱凱迪), as well as Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong (黃之鋒), were the targets of an attempted assault at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Members of the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) have been charged over both attacks.
Five CUPP members were also indicted for a Sept. 24, 2017, attack on student protesters at National Taiwan University. The students had been protesting the use of the school’s sports field to host the “Sing! China: Shanghai-Taipei Music Festival” when they were attacked by CUPP members wielding metal rods.
Pro-China groups such as the CUPP have clearly grown comfortable with using violence and intimidation to assert their views regarding the nation’s sovereignty. This cannot be tolerated. The government must send a clear message that Taiwan’s democracy will not be used as a tool to destroy that very freedom.
At face value, crimes like splashing paint on someone, issuing threats online or even physically assaulting someone are not considered major crimes in the nation’s courts, nor do they carry hefty punishments. For this reason suspects in these cases should be investigated under the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法). Those involved in such acts almost certainly have ties to China, and it would be surprising if investigators were unable to trace their funding back to sources across the Strait.
People like Lam have left Hong Kong because China has not respected the territory’s autonomy guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” formula, and the democracy and freedoms promised to residents there have been all but stripped away. Coming under threat in Taiwan — where they had believed they would be free — is surely a traumatic experience. This psychological trauma must be factored into any judicial ruling levied against those found threatening political refugees in Taiwan.
Many democracies have laws to protect people from hate-based and politically motivated crimes. In Canada, the Criminal Code prohibits hateful speech or actions based on race, color, ancestry, place of origin, religion, creed, political opinion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation or age. Depending on the nature of the crime, these offenses are punishable with fines, probation or imprisonment.
If the Anti-infiltration Act cannot be applied, then the government must consider enacting hate laws that would strictly penalize people who threaten or assault others based on their political views. When protesters supporting Hong Kong’s democracy movement confronted those condemning it on the streets of Toronto and Vancouver last year, both factions mostly kept to opposite sides of the street.
Differing political views are an important part of a healthy democracy, but violence based on those views is never acceptable. Taiwan must prevent such violence to protect its democracy.
There are moments in history when America has turned its back on its principles and withdrawn from past commitments in service of higher goals. For example, US-Soviet Cold War competition compelled America to make a range of deals with unsavory and undemocratic figures across Latin America and Africa in service of geostrategic aims. The United States overlooked mass atrocities against the Bengali population in modern-day Bangladesh in the early 1970s in service of its tilt toward Pakistan, a relationship the Nixon administration deemed critical to its larger aims in developing relations with China. Then, of course, America switched diplomatic recognition
The international women’s soccer match between Taiwan and New Zealand at the Kaohsiung Nanzih Football Stadium, scheduled for Tuesday last week, was canceled at the last minute amid safety concerns over poor field conditions raised by the visiting team. The Football Ferns, as New Zealand’s women’s soccer team are known, had arrived in Taiwan one week earlier to prepare and soon raised their concerns. Efforts were made to improve the field, but the replacement patches of grass could not grow fast enough. The Football Ferns canceled the closed-door training match and then days later, the main event against Team Taiwan. The safety
The Chinese government on March 29 sent shock waves through the Tibetan Buddhist community by announcing the untimely death of one of its most revered spiritual figures, Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. His sudden passing in Vietnam raised widespread suspicion and concern among his followers, who demanded an investigation. International human rights organization Human Rights Watch joined their call and urged a thorough investigation into his death, highlighting the potential involvement of the Chinese government. At just 56 years old, Rinpoche was influential not only as a spiritual leader, but also for his steadfast efforts to preserve and promote Tibetan identity and cultural
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
RSS