Take a stand for Taiwan's democracy
More signatures, please
Last time I checked, there were 584 signatures on the "Open letter on erosion of justice in Taiwan," but there should be far more. (I'm #102.) If you haven't yet done so, please go read it, and add your signature now [UPDATE 1, December 3, 2008: Many thanks to all of the readers of this blog who have added their names to the letter! As of 8 PM Taiwan time, there were 1,999 signatures. Even though the goal of 1,000 signatures has nearly been doubled, the Ma administration has not acknowledged their wrongdoing. If you haven't signed it yet, please do. /update 1].
Also, the Wild StrawBerries Movement (野草莓學運) has an online petition, too. (I'm number 三八ㄟ.) [UPDATE 2, December 3, 2008: Many thanks to all the readers of this blog who have given their support to the Wild StrawBerries! As of 8 PM Taiwan time, there are 1,184 signatures, but there still hasn't been a satisfactory response from the Ma government. If you haven't signed the petition yet, please go do it now. /update 2] Here are their goals [edited for formatting, clarity, spelling, and completeness]:
1. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) must publicly apologize to all citizens [for creating the situation which allowed the police to treat protesters the way they did during Chen Yunlin's (陳雲林) visit to Taiwan].
2. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) and National Security Bureau Director Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明) must step down [to take responsibility for the police brutality that occurred as a result of the massive police presence].
3. The Legislative Yuan (行政院) must revise the Parade and Assembly Law (集會遊行法), which currently restricts the rights of the people [and which are set to become even more repressive early in 2009]. [This is basically a simple demand for "Freedom of Assembly."]
Whys and wherefores: Taiwan, 台灣, White Terror, 白色恐怖, open letter, 公開信, petition, 簽署
Cross-posted at It's Not Democracy, It's A Conspiracy!
Labels: open letter, petition, Taiwan, Tim Maddog, White Terror, 公開信, 台灣, 白色恐怖, 簽署
posted Sunday, November 16, 2008 @ 10:54 PM by Tim Maddog
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7 Comments:
Were permits to protest Chen yunlin's visit rejected?
Yes and yes. They were blocked in other ways, too.
Tim Maddog
TVBS is saying that a picture in yesterday's Liberty Times of a protestor with a bloody face who claimed that a policeman hit him was a fake. They say he was actually hit in the face with a bottle. Do you know of this case?
I saw some videos you put up but it was hard to tell what was going on. The police kept raising their shields to block the media.
An editorial in yesterdays Taipei Times claims "Photos clearly show that plainclothes policemen entered the crowds and attacked protesters, and that triad members and people with political opinions different from those of the protesters entered the crowd to attack the police. Such acts were deliberately aimed at creating a violent situation and having the protesters blamed for it." It makes perfect sense to me. the KMT stands to gain the most from violence from the protestors and I am aware of their history. But, is there really photographic proof of this. Have any protestors brought cases of police misconduct to court?
First of all, Adam, you must remember this: the 100% Chinese-owned TVBS has a record of making shit up in league with gangsters and that Chen Shui-bian-hater Lee Tao (李濤) has stated publicly that if only two out of every 10 opinions aired on the show are fact, that would be enough.
Secondly, I saw footage with my own eyes of a riot police hitting an FTV reporter, another policeman hitting a DPP politician in the face (leaving him with a bloody eye injury), a young boy being handled violently by police, and many other cases of police violence. I have seen photos and videos of people who instigated violence running away from the scene and letting the protesters deal with the wrath of the police.
Thirdly, while I'm not sure about whether any lawsuits have been initiated or not, I know that people want to do so. Furthermore, you must remember that in a climate in which police are bold enough to say "So sue me!," it will be rather difficult for the victims to receive justice.
Tim Maddog
I found this blog while doing some research for the Taiwanese politics post I just made on my blog (http://bnjammin.blogspot.com/2008/12/independent-taiwan.html) and I am glad that there are other kindred spirits in the blogosphere! Keep it up!
I'm happy there is a blog in english about taiwan matters. Keep up the good work! From Belgium
加油
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