In Taiwan, Government Celebrates Human Rights Day While People Protest
China Times, December 11, 2020
December 10 marked the international Human Rights Day. While President Tsai Ing-wen and Control Yuan President Chen Chu changed the slogan of Taiwan’s human rights “upgrade,” more than 10 veterans of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), including former Chairman Chang Chun-hung, were hundreds of feet away on the streets making severe criticisms of the government. Chang and others said that the government ostensibly upheld democracy and human rights but in essence adopted “Taiwan independence fascism,” sticking to a false dichotomy to divide people and eliminating any dissident voices. It turned democracy and human rights into a slogan to beguile people and reversed all the democratic process of the past 40 years. Thus, it is opening a “new era of the old times."
Food Safety, Work Safety, and Free Speech Violations
December 10 also marked the 41st anniversary of the Formosa Incident, part of Taiwan’s civil movement for freedom and democracy. Chen, who chairs the National Human Rights Commission, invited President Tsai to jointly unveil the logo of the newly established body. In her speech, President Tsai said that after the Human Rights Commission officially came into operation in August, it had set a new milestone for the protection of human rights.
When President Tsai said at the Control Yuan that no matter what policy reforms to be promoted in the future, human rights would be the basic and priority values, in front of the Office of the President, the Legislative Yuan, and the Executive Yuan, there were rallies against the government’s lifting restrictions on imported pork containing ractopamine, shutting down the CtiTV News television station, governing dictatorially, and ignoring food safety, work safety, freedom of speech and press, and basic rights of the people.
In front of the Legislative Yuan, Chang, who was arrested and tried for the Formosa Incident, and Lin Cheng-chieh, Hsih Cheng-feng and many other old democratic figures were disaffected with a series of the government’s anti-democracy actions and joined forces with the labor march “ Struggle,” the Land Justice Alliance, and the Anti-Ractopamine Poisonous Pork Alliance, to criticize the government. "As the government celebrates Human Rights Day, we are protesting against its human rights violations. This is ironic. Is the Tsai administration not ashamed?" they said. Human rights and democracy are the “holy grail” of the DPP. Ironically, old veterans of the party came out to accuse the government of trampling the very ideals.
The government talks about democracy and human rights and taunts mainland China for not having democracy all the time, but it always uses blue-green or unification-independence dichotomy to divide the people into opposing parts discriminate against each other. It is fitting to remind the Tsai administration that democracy mainly rely on good governance, not slogans.
Democracy Hurt By Ruling Party, DPP Veteran: Ashamed
The 82-year-old Chang read his handwritten speech and recalled the Formosa Incident of 41 years ago. At that time, Taiwanese resisted totalitarianism for democracy. But when he became an old man, Taiwanese still frequently walked down every path they used to walk. According to Chang, the democracy that we have struggled for turns out to be the rule of man, not the rule of law. It proves that the revolution has not yet succeeded, and the mission has not been fulfilled. He is very ashamed and worries about Taiwan's democracy and human rights.
“When we celebrate the International Human Rights Day, if these freedoms and justice are subject to the definition by some people, then that is not the freedom and justice we have pursued. If the freedom, democracy and peace touted by the government are not what we have aspired to, then they are only slogans for people’s mental illusion. So we must reflect on what we have aspired to,” said Huang Wei-shing, a lawyer who helped Hsieh Tsung-min, the drafter of the “A Declaration of Formosan Self-salvation,” file a constitutional lawsuit in the early years.
In Censoring Children’s Book, More Abusive than During Martial Law
Political activist Hsih Cheng-feng said that in the past 40 years, he has worked hard for Taiwan as an independent country. The eventual purpose is to defend freedom and democracy. The government must realize that people have different positions on certain matters. If they are not willing to listen, even if Taiwan does become an independent country, it would be split like Northern Ireland, an eventuality people do not want.
Another veteran politician Lin Cheng-chieh said solemnly that previous "Publication Law" only banned publications, now the government decided to censor children's books in advance, which was more excessive than what was under the martial law. President Tsai even set a precedent for representative politics in the world to legislate against specific targets and to confiscate the Kuomintang (KMT) party assets. As for the nationalization of the Water Conservancy Association, it was just to eliminate local KMT activists. In order to secure its power, the DPP dares to do anything, even sacrifice democracy. He said that the DPP has become a fascist party, completely contrary to its original ideals. It is more abominable than President Chiang Kai-shek. If it does not correct itself, then the people will come out to overthrow it.
From: https://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20201211000547-260509