Taiwan is obligated to reciprocate to the international community and stand with global religious leaders and the pan-democratic camp, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) told the opening ceremony of the Taiwan International Religious Freedom Summit yesterday.
Lai thanked Samuel Brownback, who in February 2020 invited him to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, for allowing him to participate in the international religious summit and roundtable conference.
He said that event had taught him a lot, such as how religious freedom is still severely persecuted in many places.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Taiwan has been through its share of dictatorial oppression, and the liberty and democracy it enjoys is the result of the people bravely standing against such pressure, he said.
Taiwan’s has been ranked 10th in the world and first in Asia in terms of democratic achievements, according to The Economist, while US-based Freedom House has given Taiwan a score of 94 in terms of democracy, placing it only slightly behind Japan and ranking second in Asia, he said.
Taiwan has 100 percent religious freedom, regardless of the institution, he added.
Lai also commented on the venue, the Grand Hotel, which was where the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was founded.
Legislative Yuan Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) was there on that day, Lai said as You looked on.
As long as there is autocracy, there will be religious persecution, he said.
Like many other emerging countries, Taiwan has been through its share of colonization and oppression, but it has matured into a fully democratic country, touted as the “Beacon of Democracy in Asia,” You said.
Taiwan’s efforts and achievements show that the words of former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) — who died in 2015 — that “human rights and democracy are Western creations that are unsuitable for Asian nations” were false, You added.
Pew Research Center in 2014 put Taiwan second among 232 countries on its Religion Diversity Index, while Freedom House had the nation 17th on its Freedom Index, he said.
Taiwan’s experience of fighting oppression and autocracy has created a tolerant society that respects cultural diversity, he said.
Religious freedom is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution, and the government fully respects different cultures and beliefs, You added.
“We are proud to say that a church can exist side by side with a mosque, both of which can exist side by side with a traditional Taiwanese temple,” he said.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant