Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation Youth Volunteer Corps Press Release

Ever since the second detention of the former President Chen Shui-bian, our entire society has been highly concerned about President Chen’s case. The commentators and the media have all paid maximum amount of attention to the developments of this case. Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation during this time period had also received many from all sectors of our society concerns and sympathies for President Chen; especially the e-mails from many users on the internet. The internet is a young people’s platform. Our Foundation, with our faith in the February 28^th Taiwan Divinities as well as world-wide accepted values of freedom, democracy, and human rights as our basis, has today specifically come to the Taipei Detention Center in Tucheng to show our concerns for President Chen’s current situation and to convey the many internet using young people’s warm sympathies for President Chen.

The representatives of our Foundation’s Youth Volunteer Corps, after entering the detention center and talking to President Chen, like to announce the following points:

Number One: President Chen’s determined insistence on Taiwan’s sovereign values and the course towards Taiwan’s nation-building is consistent with the February 28^th faith and the spirits of sacrificing and giving for freedom, democracy, and human rights that our Foundation advocates. President Chen, as he depicted in his new book The Cross of Taiwan, has specifically mentioned to pray for Taiwan Divinities, Taiwan‘s Spirits, to help us illuminate a bright light and guide us, Taiwan, to proceed on a righteous road towards an independent Taiwan. Therefore, President Chen is a faithful follower of the spirit of the February 28^th. Our Foundation’s Youth Corps, on the basis of same faith, have specifically come to communicate our fellow cultivators’ concerns and sympathies.

Number Two: We plead that the media can suspend all harassments against President Chen’s family. We sincerely hope that Taiwan’s media can respect the Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference of his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.” Stop harassing President Chen’s family members; especially Miss Chen Hsing-yu.

Number Three: We expect that Ma Ying-jeou’s administration adheres to the Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.” Stop mistreating President Chen Shui-bian and his family members with political witch hunt and injustice. Return to the ideology of Taiwan’s sovereignty. Stand up on the basis of world’s universally-accepted values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and legal justice reject the communist China’s unificationist course that swallows us up. Let Taiwan betimes become a new and independent Republic of Taiwan, and continue to make contribution to the world’s civilization.

President Chen, under insufficient proofs of guilt, had been thus detained and effectively suffered “open trial by the media,” had made young people feel very insecure and angry towards Taiwan’s justice system. The insecurity originates at that if even a former president can be arbitrarily detained in such a fashion, then the common people shall endure judicial terrors and threats. The anger is at a justice system that serves Ma’s administration, who transgresses regulations, violates discipline, abuses the administrative machinery to eradicate political enemies, and destroys the arduously built legal aptitude after Taiwan lifted the Martial Law. This shall make the young people distrust the justice system. Taiwan’s democracy and justice system will be all gone. This demands us to stand up and revolt, and protect our country with our lives.