【聲明】Joint Statement of Taiwanese Human Rights Groups Condemning the PRC government’s Large-scale Suppression of Chinese Human Rights Defenders
We, the civil society in Taiwan, strongly urge the Chinese government respect human rights and immediately release the human rights lawyers and human rights defenders who have been taken away since the early morning of July 9 from their workplaces or homes with no proper reasons or procedures.
Rule change a threat to freedom of journalists
After local governments across the nation spent big money on fireworks displays for New Year’s Eve celebrations to generate a “little happiness” for the public, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) surprised media outlets with a big New Year’s Day present on Jan. 1. The Taipei City Police Department issued regulations for how officers should deal with the media and assemblies and parades. In the future, police are to designate a “press zone” and a “petition zone,” which in effect is a “protest zone,” for all demonstrations, which are to be divided into two stages: a “peaceful stage” and a “dispersal…
Joint Statement Condemning the Violent Crackdown on the Peaceful Pro-Democracy Protestors in Hong Kong
Joint Statement Condemning the Violent Crackdown on the Peaceful Pro-Democracy Protestors in Hong Kong translator: David Wu proofread: Shaina Wang On the sixtieth day of the Umbrella Movement, protesters at Mong Kok (旺角) were violently cracked down and forcedly evicted by the overwhelming force of more than six-thousand policemen. The heavily-armed police force cleared off the peaceful and un-armed protesters with batons and tear-gas guns. More than eighty protestors were arrested, including the Vice Secretary-General of HKFS Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) and the Convener of Scholarism Lester Shum(岑敖暉). Evidence shows that Joshua Wong was beaten in the police office. The…
Group pans police summons over anti-nuclear rally
By Lee I-chia / Taipei Times Staff reporter 10 June 2014 Taipei Times The National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform yesterday said that several of its members had been told to report to their local police for questioning over their actions during an anti-nuclear protest on Taipei’s Zhongxiao W Road in April. On April 27, tens of thousands people took to the streets of Taipei in an anti-nuclear parade, and occupied a section of Zhongxiao W Road later that evening. Thousands of protesters were forcefully evicted by police, aided by water cannons, the next morning. The anti-nuclear platform said four members…
NPA collection of data unlawful
By Liu Ching-yi 劉靜怡( professor in the College of Social Sciences at National Taiwan University, Board Member of Taiwan Association for Human Rigths) Translated by Paul Cooper 8th June 2014 Taipei Times The Council of Grand Justices’ Constitutional Interpretation No. 603 puts it clearly: “Where it is necessary for the state to … set up databases … for the purposes of any particular major public interest, it shall not only prescribe by law the purposes of such collection, which shall be necessary and relevant to the achievement of the purposes of such major public interest, but also prohibit by law any…
Nine Chinese exiles get residency after years without status
Nine Chinese exiles get residency after years without status By Alison Hsiao / Staff Reporter Nine Chinese exiles in Taiwan — five dissidents and four Falong Gung practitioners — have been granted long-term residency permits after living in the nation for between five and 10 years without official status. They can become Taiwanese citizens after two years. According to the Epoch Times and Radio Free Asia, the nine Chinese exiles had originally asked for political asylum and have been granted long-term residence permits by the government. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) confirmed the news yesterday. The five Chinese dissidents…
Condemn State Violence. Urge government to properly respond to people’s request for Anti-nuclear power plants
Condemn State Violence. Urge government to properly respond to people’s request for Anti-nuclear power plants Taiwan Association for Human Rights translators: Pan Yi, Pinnhuei Lee On the sixth day of Mr. Lin’s fasting, the government still didn’t give a clear response to whether or not to stop the construction of the nuclear power plant. National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform (NNAAP) called for a demonstration on April 27th and occupied Zhong-Xiao West Road by peaceful sit-in as a way to show civil disobedience and request the government to give people a deserving answer. On the late night of 27th…
Time for a meaningful rights body
THE EDITORIAL of Taipei Times, 2014 April 26th: Time for a meaningful rights body Taiwanese human rights advocates were joined by several foreign counterparts on Thursday in calling for an independent national human rights commission to be established, one that actually has the power to conduct investigations. However, their appeal will likely end up being just another statement in a debate about commissions that goes back decades. There has been talk about establishing an official rights commission since January 2000, shortly before the first transfer of power from a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration. The key sticking point over the years…
Rights advocates call for independent commission
Home / Taiwan News Fri, Apr 25, 2014 – Page 3 Rights advocates call for independent commission By Loa Iok-sin / Staff reporter Rosslyn Noonan, former chair of New Zealand’s National Human Rights Commission, left, and Henri Tiphagne, chairperson of FORUM-ASIA, right, attend a press conference organized by Covenants Watch and Taiwan Association for Human Rights in the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times Human rights advocates from Taiwan and abroad affiliated with the Asian NGO Network for National Human Rights Institutions yesterday called for the establishment of an independent national human rights commission with…
TAHR’s statement regarding Constitutional Interpretation No. 718
Taiwan Association for Human Rights has issued a statement regarding the Grand Justices’ Interpretation No. 718 regarding the constitutionality of Taiwan’s Assembly and Parade Act. According to their statement, the Grand Justices failed in preserving the right to assemble, and excessive power still lies in the hands of authorities. __________ Taiwan Association for Human Rights’ statement regarding Constitutional Interpretation No. 718 During the visit of Chinese envoy Mr. Chen Yun-lin at the end of 2008, the excessive and reckless force against protesters, under the pretext of national security, caused a series of demonstrations held by civil society organizations (CSOs) in Taiwan,…
Protect the rights of Tibetans in Taiwan
Protect the rights of Tibetans in Taiwan By Huang Song-lih and Shih Yi-hsiang 黃嵩立，施逸翔 / Mon, Mar 10, 2014 – Page 8 On March 10 every year, Tibetans around the world and their supporters come together to commemorate Tibetan Uprising Day. This year marks the 55th anniversary of the uprising. For Tibetans, neither Dharamsala, India, or free and democratic Taiwan is their homeland. Tibet is their home. In 1959, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) invaded Tibet, forcing the 14th Dalai Lama to flee, which triggered an exodus of Tibetans across the Himalayas into India, away from…
The development of immigration detention issue in Taiwan
The development of immigration detention issue in Taiwan on Dipity.