Call to free Assange
To the Honorable Liz Truss, former prime minister of the UK:
On Wednesday, a small group of us held a micro-demonstration at the entrance of your British Trade Office in Taipei to ask that you help Julian Assange, who has been confined in Britain for more than a decade, as he faces deportation to the US. The British Trade Office refused to either meet us or receive our petition.
While you were visiting Taiwan, those in your circle accused China of threatening democracy by spreading misinformation and jailing journalists like Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai (黎智英) for treason. This is no doubt true.
But, how can you ignore the fact that at the same time, Assange, who has committed the same “crime” of being a good journalist and exposing the truth, has been imprisoned at His Majesty’s prison for several years, has undergone confinement in England for more than a decade, and faces extradition to the US — for Jimmy Lai-style charges?
In fact, Assange’s Web site, WikiLeaks, has impartially without favor exposed all governments, including Beijing and Moscow.
Please consider that every time the West denounces the suppression of press freedom in China, the agents of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) can rightfully point out what you are doing to Assange.
Major newspapers like the New York Times and the Guardian, which published Assange’s material, were never held accountable, and have since signed a letter denouncing the charges facing Assange as dangerous and asked that they be dropped.
Finally, Australia’s prime minister has also called for Assange to be repatriated to Australia, saying that his confinement in the UK can be considered time served and that further action is a waste of time.
We believe you still have much influence with the British government and request that you apply your proven skills in government to win the release of Assange.
Curtis Smith
Taipei
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