Lawmakers yesterday at the legislature in Taipei said that their primary mission would be to aid Hong Kongers in their struggle against Chinese oppression as they attended the inauguration of the Taiwan Parliamentary Human Rights Commission.
In his opening remarks, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), initiator and chairman of the commission, said that this year has been exceptional for people all over the world.
Everyone is facing the COVID-19 pandemic together, yet at the same time, human rights are being restricted, Wang said.
Photo: CNA
In Hong Kong, Joshua Wong (黃之鋒), Agnes Chow (周庭) and other young democracy advocates are being persecuted, but they are not exceptional cases, rather they are part of a larger trend of human rights violations at the hands of Beijing, he said.
People are used to tracking a nation’s development with measures such as GDP, but hopefully in the future human rights would instead serve as the barometer, he added.
Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Lin Jih-jia (林志嘉) said that human rights are an extremely important guidepost for Taiwan, which it has over the years worked tirelessly to advance as part of its democracy.
The nation must shine brightly on the world stage, Lin said, adding that a vital mission of the legislature is to facilitate parliamentary friendship groups with nations worldwide.
The commission would communicate with the world through the language of human rights with its advocacy and actions, he said.
The biggest difference between Taiwan and China is the former’s democracy and freedom, he added.
Beijing even goes so far as to suppress human rights, Lin said, pointing to the “brave young people” fighting for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong.
They are paying such a high price for their fight against an autocratic government and China’s oppression of Hong Kongers holds a particular significance for Taiwan, he said.
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Lai Hsiang-lin (賴香伶), vice chairwoman of the commission, said that in the past few days the Hong Kong government has been cracking down on young democracy advocates, putting Taiwan on high alert.
Taiwanese hope never to have to live in the shadow of “one country, two systems,” Lai said.
Hong Kong’s democratic system used to outshine Taiwan and serve as an example, but now it is Taiwan that is upholding the beacon of democracy in Asia, she said.
In Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) the saying “The sun will always rise” (天總是攏會光) encourages perseverance in the face of adversity, National Human Rights Commission Vice Chairman Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠) said.
Taiwanese must adhere to this saying, advancing human rights at home while working with others to safeguard people’s rights around the globe, he said.
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS