Taiwan should monitor human rights situation in China: lawyers

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Taiwan should take a tougher stance against the deteriorating human rights situation in China before Taiwanese nationals become victims of China's obscure legal system, a group of lawyers said Thursday on the eve of the 21st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Human rights lawyers from Hong Kong and Taiwan warned that if Taiwan continues to turn a blind eye to China's human rights violations, "sooner or later, China-based Taiwanese nationals will suffer," said Lin Feng-jen, executive director of the Judicial Reform Foundation

The activists say China continues to detain, kidnap and torture human rights lawyers who speak up against the government. Several lawyers have gone missing while others had their license revoked for bucking the system, they said. Activists said that by being under the constant threats of the government, lawyers have lost their vital role as protectors of citizens' rights. The group called on President Ma Ying-jeou, a Harvard-trained legal scholar, to be mindful of China's human rights situation as he tries to forge closer trade relations with Beijing.

Taiwan and China are expected to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) next month. Since Ma took office in 2008, his administration has been heavily accused by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party of being too China-leaning. In an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, the president affirmed his plan to issue a statement on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre Friday as he has done since the bloody crackdown in 1989. Over the last 21 years, the president said during the interview, China has made dramatic changes and improvement

"I believe the Beijing government will undertake new measures on the issue and by doing so, it will narrow the gap between people on both side of the [Taiwan Strait] because the Taiwanese people are watching," he said. "We have always been highly concerned about the issue, especially me."


(2010-06-03 / Focus Taiwan News Channel)