The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) human rights record has worsened since the Tiananmen Square Massacre 31 years ago, which it continues to cover up, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday.
On June 4, 1989, Beijing used military force to suppress a student demonstration calling for democratic reform in China, but the CCP still refuses to face the facts surrounding the massacre, the council said.
Through its aggression and its use of technology to monitor and imprison dissidents, Beijing deprives the Chinese public of basic human rights — a situation that is worsening every day, it said.
The council called on Beijing to heed the calls of Chinese for democracy and to promptly reform its political system.
“Beijing must investigate the facts surrounding the Tiananmen Square Massacre and issue a sincere apology. Only then can the well-being of the Chinese public be improved and China effectively governed,” the council said.
The CCP’s one-party dictatorship puts it at odds with universal values, as do its use of concentration camps for Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang; its attacks on religious groups and dissidents; and breaking its promise to Hong Kong of democratic autonomy, it said.
“The Chinese government must make amends for its mistakes and show that it respects the aspirations of Chinese. It must give the power back to the people,” the council said.
“Peace, parity, democracy and dialogue are crucial to good cross-strait ties,” it said, citing remarks by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during her second inaugural address on May 20.
China must abandon its heavy-handed pressuring of Taiwan, and should instead promote the safeguarding of human rights and democracy for people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, which would be more beneficial to cross-strait relations, it added.
The council also called on China to release Taiwanese democracy activist Lee Ming-che (李明哲), who was imprisoned in China in 2017.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS