Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

This week, it will be 25 years since the authorities in Beijing put down the student protests at Tiananmen Square. It is an important moment to reflect on what happened in those dark days. The spirit and the courage of the students still resonates with people all over the world. In commemorating June 4, 1989, we should also ask how China has changed in those 25 years, and what the lessons are for Taiwan.

In the past two decades, China has made progress in advancing living standards to raise some of the poor into the middle class and some have become wealthy. There has been rapid economic growth. People in the middle class are able to enjoy a better life. Nevertheless, in terms of political and civil rights, society remains stuck in an authoritarian mode and the rulers in Beijing refuse to acknowledge what happened in 1989.

Amnesty International Secretary-General Salil Shetty speaks in an interview in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

Taiwan has made significant progress in the past 30 years in terms of human rights protection, Amnesty International (AI) secretary-general Salil Shetty said yesterday.

However, he said there is still room for improvement — especially when it comes to police brutality and the use of torture against peaceful demonstrators.

On his first visit to Taiwan, Shetty said it does not feel like an unfamiliar country, because AI, along with other global human rights organizations, have worked with Taiwan before, including efforts to rescue political prisoners during the Martial Law era.