Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Amnesty says nation must still improve human rights

Taipei Times

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.

Ma’s legacy no concern of nation

Taipei Times Editorial

Strong pledges from a head of a state often reassure the public, as they reflect a strong character. It is different, however, with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

Six years into his presidency, “how credible are Ma’s words?” is an oft-repeated question among Taiwanese. Campaigning for the presidency in 2008, Ma vowed to continue to seek UN membership: That turned out instead to be a push for so-called “meaningful participation in UN agencies” and a “diplomatic truce” with China.

Ire after anti-Ma page vanishes

Taipei Times

Netizens yesterday erupted in anger after a Facebook page created by an online alliance against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was allegedly removed, triggering a wave of conspiracy theories.

The page had accumulated more than 360,000 fans since its establishment in early 2012 and was filled with news reports critical of Ma and his administration’s policies.

Ma bids to repress national identity as policy fails: TSU

Taipei Times

The recent defection of a scientist to China and the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) bid to push through legislation on the free economic pilot zones reflect both the failure of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) pro-China policy and his attempt to neutralize a strengthening Taiwanese national identity, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) said yesterday.

“Ma has realized that the rise of a Taiwanese identity would be the biggest roadblock on the path to eventual unification with China, which is why he wants to bring as many Chinese into the country as possible through the establishment of zones and passage of the cross-strait service trade agreement,” TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) told supporters in Greater Taichung.

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