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Home The News News Ma calls for ‘tolerance’ in Chinese dissident’s case

Ma calls for ‘tolerance’ in Chinese dissident’s case

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday broke his silence on the sentencing of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) and urged Beijing to tolerate those who express their opinions by peaceful means, but stopped short of calling for his release.

Liu, a co-author of “Charter 08,” which calls for an end to Chinese Communist Party dominance and the implementation of a constitutional democracy in China, was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Beijing court on Friday.

Ma yesterday said he has been pursuing democracy and human rights since he began his political career. He also made tremendous effort to implement such policies since he took office in May last year, he said.

As the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are signatories of two UN rights conventions — the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights — Ma said he hoped both sides would give those who voice their opinions in a peaceful manner the most tolerance possible.

Yesterday marked Ma’s first comments on Liu’s case since his sentencing on Friday, while the international community was swift to denounce Beijing. Washington demanded Liu’s immediate release. The Swedish EU presidency condemned the decision, saying it raised concerns about freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial in China. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement that the verdict cast “an ominous shadow” over China’s commitments to protect human rights.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokeswoman Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Friday accused Ma, who during his term as Taipei mayor championed the rights of Tiananmen Massacre protesters, of staying silent on China’s gross violations of human rights after taking office.

DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) asked Ma to request Liu’s release, saying the Ma administration had remained silent since Liu was taken into custody more than a year ago. Such silence sent a wrong message to the world that the Taiwanese government did not oppose Beijing’s suppression of democratic reformers, she said.

On Friday, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Liu’s sentence serves as a test of the Chinese government’s approach to dealing with human rights.

The MAC said it hoped Beijing would step up its efforts to implement the two covenants to demonstrate its respect for human rights and the protection of universal values.

Source: Taipei Times 2009/12/27



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Newsflash


Activists chant slogans while holding placards, calling for the rights of Taiwanese businessmen in China not to be ignored, during a demonstration outside a building where Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung briefed reporters on the new round of high-level talks with his Chinese counterpart Chen Yunlin in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Mandy CHENG, AFP

Human rights groups yesterday protested in front of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) headquarters in Taipei, urging officials to include personal safety on the agenda of the next round of talks with China that begin tomorrow and calling for the immediate release of Bruce Chung (鍾鼎邦), a Taiwanese businessman and Falun Gong practitioner who has been detained in China for more than 50 days.

The eighth meeting between the foundation and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits is to be held in Taipei from today until Friday. An investment protection agreement and a customs cooperation agreement are expected to be signed during the meeting.