thrac newsletter june 1992

8/3/2019 THRAC Newsletter June 1992

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TAIWANESElne

HUMANRIGHTSASSOCIATIONF CANADA

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htrervsletter{At€n"Box67035, 300YongeSt.TorontoOnt. CanadaM4p 1E0

Vol. 2. No lJune 1992

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TTTRACACTTVTTTES (DECEI|BER 1991 _ JI,NE 1992'

Dec 91: started a christmas care letter writ ing campaign tothe polit ical prisoners in Taiwan. A1r Taiwanesechurches in Toronto responded to this call and sent cardsand letters to polit ical prisoners in Taiwan.

i lan 92: rssued a statement on January 9, 1992, in protestagainst Beij ing authorit ies for phyical manhandling andexpulsion of three members of the canadian parriament,Mrs. Beryl Gaff iney, Mr. Svend Robinson and Mr. Georgescott. This incident was an unprecedented diplomaticscandal. The Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canadacondemned Bei j ing authori t ies 'disrespect for humanrights and mistreatment of these three courageous Mps.Ms. P.L. Lin, was interviewed by radio stat ion CHRY ofToronto to express the vi-ews of THRAC on this incident.

Feb 92: fssued a statement on'February g, 1gg2, in protestthe recent arrest of a journal ist , Ms. Stel la W.C" Chen

by th eKMT regime in Taiwan. she was f irst harrassed bythe KMT regime when she reported inappropriate practicesof judic iar procedures against opposit ion leaders. shesubseguentry established the organization for Taiwan-Nation Building to advocate Taiwan independence.

Feb 92: Several members of Taiwanese Human Rights Associationof canada met with members of parl iament in ottawa inFebruary, 1992. A brief ing on human rights issues inTaiwan was presented, as well as the status of Taiwanamong the international communit ies: GATT and UnitedNat ions.

Feb-Flar 92 : co-sponsored the first Nationar Taiwanese-Canadian Cultural Convention from February Zg toMarch '1, 1992 in Ottawa. this marked the 125th

r Anniversary of Canadian Confederation, the 30thanniversary of Taiwanese-Canadian Association.The major events included the Memorial session forVict ims of February 28, 1947 massacre; specialguest speeched by Local Government Off icials,Professor from the university of ottawa, Members ofParl iament, and Federar Mult icul tural ism off ic ials,the Music for Equality and Unity, Banguet, and Talentshows. This event attracted approximately three hundred

audi.enceAt the Condent ion, Ms. p.L. Lin presented awards toProfessor Robert Huang and Albert Lin. As founder ofthe A-cA and THRAC, their vision, courage, dedicationand contributions to the Taiwanese Communit ites in Canadamake them wel l deserving of the awards.

several members of THRACvisited the Tu cheng Detentioncenter whi le they were in Taiwan with piof . chang,Dr. wang, Dr.Kuo and prof . Lee to express our s inceresupport for their struggle for an independent anddemocratic Taiwan.



May 922 Join effort with other organization in lettercampaign ads to rescue ploit ical prisoners in Taiwan.

June 92: Held mernbers ureetings. Invite Ms. Chen, a humanrights activist, from Taiwan as guest of Honour.

ON-going THRACCare Task Force organized members into groups.

on-going Distrubed mailed TAIWAN COMMUNfQUE to concerned

organj.zations and individuals in Canada Human Rightsorganizations, churches, Members of Parl iament, Federaloff ic ials, scholars, research inst i tutes, andInternational Committee for Human Rights in Taiwan, ECthe HAGUE, the Netherlands.

POLITTCAI, PRISONERS RECENTLY RELEASED IN TAIWA}I

' Under the pressure of domestic opposition groups and atthe urge of international groups and individuals includingAnnesty International, various human rights associations,churches, polit icians, and other dignitari-es from all overthe world, the KMT Government finally amended the notoriousart icle 100 of the criminal code which init ial ly imposedpenalt ies on loosely defined sedit ion. the amended codeexcludes peaceful expression and association from sedit ionpenalt ies.

As a result of the amendment, nine polit ical dissidantswho were imprisoned or under indictment for sedit ion charges,were released after the amendment went into effect on May 18,1992. The following polit ical prisoners of Taiwan haverecently been released.

Dr. Kang-lu Wang, 50 year old

Plant Physiologist and Author.!lr. Hwa Huang, 53 years old.Author, Magazine Editor, and Peace Act iv ist .

Ms- Wan-chen Chen, 41 years o].d.Author, Journalist, and Newspaper Publisher.

Dr . Pei-Horng Kuo, 36 years old.Professional Civi l Engineer and Newspaper Publisher.

Professor Ying-Yuan tee, 38 years old.Assistant Professor of Hea1th Adrninistrat ion,Univ. of South Dakota

Dr. Long-Jun Hsu, 47 years old.President, Dentist Association in Taj-wan

l{r. Yong-Shen Lin, 47 years old.

Taj.wan rndependence Activist.Mr. Wu-Chien Cho, 41 years old.Stat ist ic ian, Newspaper editor, and Magazine Publ isher.

ur. Kai-shih Chiang, 33 years old.Author and Non-violent Reformer.

i l D r I H S F li t , H m, E e H n ff i .a . A * t n f t f i El t F . [0 * I Et l ,

tg EE i f; T.H.R.A.C", ! S E: Box67035,2300YongeStreet.Toronto.Ontario.CanadaM4P1E0

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POLITTCAL PRISOIIER CT'RREI{TLY DETAINED IN TAIWAN

DR. GEORGET.H. CHANG

Dr. George T.II. Chang, Chair^man of tVor].d United Fomosans forrndependence (wuFr), has been the driving force

behind theoverseas independence movement for more than two decades.YlttFr was founded in 1971 | through a merger of overseasTaiwanese groups set up in the 1960s in Japan, the UnitedStates, Canada and Europe. Its objective is to establisha sovereign, independent state of Taiwan with a democraticmult i-party polit ical system by peaceful means.

Dr . Chang is a former professor and dean of chemicalengineering department at Cooper Union University in NewYork, where he taught for 20 years before he resigned. in1987 to work full time for WttFI.

He went to the United States for advanced studies aftergraduating from National Taiwan University and received aPHD from Rice uinversity in Houston, Texas in 1966.

Dr. Chang was arrested at Taipei International airport onDecember 7, 1991, after he flew in from Tokyo. Hewas returning to Taiwan after 30 years of exile in the UnitedStates. His return was an important part of a campaignlaunched'by. the WUFI leadership in the summer of 1990 tomove the Central Headquarter back to Taiwan by the end of1991.

Dr . Chang has been charged with "illegal entry into Taiwan"

and "sedit ion". if convicted, he could be senetenced tol i fe in pr ison.

Dr . Chang is currently suffering from heart problem,:extremely high blood presure and a tumor in his neck,discovered just last month. Lack of rnedical attentionin the detention center has prompted an island-widecall for his bail on medical care. Depite calls forhis release from many members of Taiwans' parliament

the Taiwan authorit ies have refused the petit ion.

please send protest letters to the following:

Efdl$6f f Ett i l i lEl i t fE, Ef 33' l T't j 1*tr t :

PremierPei-TsunHauExeqltiveYuan1 Chung-Hsiao.Rd,Sec.Taipei,Taiwan

President eng-Hue eePresidential alace130Chung€hing . Rd.Taipei,Taiwan

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ABSTRACT FROM TAIWN{ COMMTTNIQUE Issue 54, April 1992

1. Electing the President, direct or indirect?

A debate about direct or indirect presidential electionerrupted in March between the conservative and the progressivewings of the KI' ITparty. A major faction within the regislat iveYuan - the new KMT All iance - came out in favor direct

election, within the central standing committee of the KMT,members of the ttMainstream Factiontt spoke in favor of directelection and 10 members of the conservative faction favoredindirect election. A compromj.sed resolution was draftedsubseguent to a vote by the Central Committee which proposedthat the method of election shall be decided by the newNational Assembly.

The opposit ion DPP has long called for directpresidential election. I t favors a presidential system wherepower is divided among the executive, the legislat ive and thejudic ial branches.

2. KtfT threatens to disband DPP.

At its f i f th Annual Convention, the Dpp adopted a clausein the party Chapter calling for ". . the establishment of anindependent and sovereigm Republic of Taiwan and the enactmentof a new Constitution, to be decided by the people of Taiwanin a plebisci te."

itre potit i ial Party Screening Committee issued warningsand threatened to disband the DPP unless it dropped theclause. The DPP ignored the warnings. On Feb. 1992, the KMTauthori t ies abrupt ly. decided to delay the decis ion ondisbandment indefinitely.

3. Demonstration for fndependence in Taichung

On Feb. 23, 1992, close to 401000 people dencnstratedagainst the government for its atternpt to disband the Dppand urged the government to work towards rejoining the UnitedNations. The demonstartors include church groups, BuddhistsTaiwan Association of University Professors, students, TaiwanEnvironmental Protection Union and others.

4. "Februrary 28" Comnemmorated

The 45th anniversary of the February 28 Incidentwas commenmmorated in a memorial concert service attended byfamil ies of the vict ims, the Presbyterian Church, the Dpp

representatives and president Lee.The presbyterian

church_ issue-a a statement carring for: 1 ) - The end- of dr""-iEiJ"tion ;; ch-;e Kai_shek and hisaniJ.y(2'r. Nationalization of the nilitary(3) ' Revivar of the true-i"ir"nese-ipirit.(4). Building a new Taiwan.



5. Governnent comnittee's report on the February zg rncident.

The crucial aspect of the conclusion of the committee,sf inal placed blame of the 1947 Massacre Governor chen yi,Generals Ko Yuan-fen and Peng Meng-chi. The statement,however was vague about chiang Kai-shek's role in theincident.

5. The DPP.goes to Washington

A 30 member DPP delegation arrived in washington j-n March, 1992, to seek international support for Taiwan,s bid to jointhe United Nations and GATT.

The delegates were well received by the U.S. Congress. Ina congressional luncheon, Senator Kennedy expressed hisconcern about blacklist ing of overseas Taiwanese. He issueda warning to the People,s Republic of China , that, accordingto the Taiwan Relat ions Act of 1979, the U.S. 's swcision toestablish diplomatic reration with china rests upon theexpectation that the future of Taiwan wil l

be determined bypeaceful means.

7. Resolution on Taiwan blacklishing in U.S. Senate.

Three senators, Mr. Pel1, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Liebemanintroduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate, call ing on theTaiwan authorit ies to stop bracklist ing overseas Taiwanese.A similar resolution was introduced in the House byCongressman Solarz.

Taiwan Conmunique is the anthorotive English publicationon Taiwan's social and political situation. you can subscribefrom THRAC at $2llyear.

KItIT's revision of theTaiwants democracY in

constitution:a coffin

6



Ig,lfl;jy'* |EEadi Oru'6 |Lr( 2ES I

'3tC.ne 8ld

93-5Olt

HOUSE OF COMMONSCAXAOA

,|oil. ificHAEt r{. w|lsoil. p.c., il.p.ErodcorE cct{tic

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ffitfarch 10, 1992

l,tr. Pi-Llng Li nPreaidentlalraneae HuDan Rlghts As€oclatlon of CanadaBox 670352300 Yonge StreetToronto, ontariol{4P 18 0

Dear l.lr. IJln!

ltrant( you for your l€tt€r of Januray i9,1992, conc€rtllng trad6 betseen Taluan and Canida ;ndth6 enclosed iTalrran CoDmunlgu€i. I appreclate youtaklng the tlue to €rpress ydur vlers.--

Iou! Ietter also raiaes a nulber of

Youra sincerel,y,

Hicba€l H. wll.son

steve clr€n, DvM{1 Vetrtnor Haylfep€an, OntartoK2J Llt2 l

'Hay 29, L992

lsFues about Canadars rol.e ln prouotlng hulan rlihtsand f a!! grateful-to yo u lor bilnglng thero to ny -attentlon. f slll be sure to pasi on your auggistlons

to roy colleagues durlng our dlscueeloni.

Aga1n, thank you for vrltlng ue concernLngthls uatter an d I uould llke to take ahis opportunlEyto uleh you €v€ry success In your future endlavoure.-

Pi-LingLin, PresidentTaiwaneseHuman RightsAssocBox67035,23fi) ongeStreetToronto, ONTM4P EO

DearMr Lin,

I am*Titingto hankyouvcrymrrhforhavingtakenhe imc owrite n supponofmy ecent

trip to Orina As you are awar€ he brutalityanddeath at TiannamenSquarc n June_1989

werebuta btoodyllustration fthcprofoundcPressionnddeniat f hutnan ightsinChina,

repressionwhichcontinue3 nd ndcedhasdeepened incc hat time. Massive iolationsof

human ights nTibct, particularlyeligiousreedom,werecondemnedust lastAugustby the

Unircd NadonsSubCommission n Minorities Tens of thousandsof political prisoners

continuc o bc hcld in harshconditioru n Chincseprisonsasdocumented y thc September

report of AEncaty ntcmational I canassure ou hat my colleagucsn theNew Democratic

Partyand I wilt continucto spcat out againsthumantightsabuses n China ust aswe do

aboutviolationsof human ightsbcre n Canadaand n othercountriesaround heworld.

Ccrtainly I rccognizc hat human igbts ncludenot only civil and political rights but also

cconomigsocia!andculruralrights.sFrankScottntote,"thetrappingsofdemocracyhanglooselyon an emasiatedbody politiC. Cqnada must end its suppon for the stntctural

adjustmcntpolicicsof the lntermtional MonctaryFund andWorld Bank that havegreatly

widencd hagapbetwcen ich andpoorand mustwork to ensureanend o the crushingdebt

burdenon thc Third World and a gcnuinepcacedividend" Canadamustmaintainstrong

prcssureon China to respccth|tEan rights' !o end arms sslcs o bloody regimessuchasBurma,Sriknta, Syria,and raq and o rcspcct heright !o setf'determination f thePeoPleof Tibct

I havecalled or a full ParliamentarJevkw bythe StandingCommitteeon ExternalAffairs

and nternarionalTradeon all aspcctsfthc bilateral etationship etweenCanada nd China

and hehuman ights ituationn thatcountry ndwouldwclcome ny nputyoumaywish cprovide. The Committee asalreadyheldone setof hearings n Chinaon February13.

Pteaseet meknow f youwould ike to reccivcminutcs f these carings.

In closing again hankyou or yoursupportand nviteyou o read he enclosed nicleb)

ProfessorTimothy Brookswhoscviews fully sharc.

Sinrerclyyourg

HOUSE OF COMMONSCAN O

OTTAWA

March9, 199

Svend Robinson,MPBurnaby-Kingsway

Enclosure

sJRjpPAS

PLEASEQUOTE: 920{e61

:

Yo u a.a coldially invltsd to Joln us foi a epecial,to welcoine Mlss Chu Ch.n, a n.qDc! of tbe [ational

an d husran tlghtt activlst, trom TaiuaD (Pl.ase se e€ rttacb6d infornation).

iMlss Chcn will vis{t ncnbels of th e fedbral

and f l lcnds.ln Ann.Ety Int.rnational in craada onand 10th. A dlBner lD be r honor wl l l be held frou

to 10:00 pn on tbc 9th of JUB€ at Ho lfah R.stauraat ini

tf yo u er€ plannj,ng to attend, pl€rse cbntact Stevc(513) 996-9320 (r. l) o!(513) E25-5305(fa i)

SPOTSORED;

by

The ?alHancse llunan Right,s As6ociatlon of Canadalh e Taiwancsa Foundat,ion ln Ottarra?h c Taiwanesc Frofesgor an d profo3rional

Asrociat ion of Canada

@liXl.'ft"'"g,

:

7ffi bt} f/AHE ry;g

5:30 - 10:00 pm,?uesdav, June 9, 1992



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|.@s€ffcoMd3CHMAF€ GS COMWNES

cala-o^K'A O{

8eryl Galfney,M.P.t{o.-

RA YFUNK,M,P.PFINCE ALSERT/C'IURCHILL RIVER

March31, 1992

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Fur {6t3)* r&

Mrtu@ScE

[email protected] @!r

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lSlEhtorirri renw,tillodh Jrstouthf heluJ

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February 5, L992

vd.t (. Pi-LIng l r inPresid lentTalwanese Humaa Rlghts

A€sociatlon of CanaclaBox 57035, 2300 Yonge StreetToronto, OntarioM4 P lEO

Dear

Thanh yo u so uuch for your l€tter and pless release of January 9,1992, regarallng !y receDt hulan rights Elssion to Chlna,

It l,s encouraging fo r le to l€arn that there are nany peoPle rthoare supportive of th e concept of Canadians reachlng out to th einternatlonal consunj.ty in an atterpt to inprove huran riqhts. Inth e 1on9 run, such inproveurent will benefit al l here ln Canadla.

Again, thank you fo r your suppoat. I look forrraral to hearlng frornyou agaj.n in the future. Kindlest regards,

SinceleLy,

OTtAw OFFICEIR@n 268WcllrnEm EurldngOllawa. Onlaflo Kla 0A6Ter: 6r3, 995-7325

R17

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la-,!- rtresidenr eng-Hui ec

Prcsidcntial alace130Oung.ChingS. Rd.Taipci Taiwan

Dcar Sir,

cc: PremierPei-Tsun au

RF/sbPASS

RayFunk,M.P.PrinceAlbertiChurchillRiver

d'/e&ZcorisllTU€rrcY oFtt( : t : i

IULL FREE I-8OU667.9]2A

!6 0 l r th Sreer W,,.1PnIUCEALBEFI Sasl S6V 3x5

Ter. 306}922-6996Fari (3061 22-2665

PO 8o r 1560LA 8ONGE. Sask SoJ rLo

ler: {306}425.2525Fa!: (306) 25.2885

.4 Fn\=! Y,4*.:,i-i\\si7 E

As a Mcmbcrof Parliamcnt f Canada, amwriting o encourageour governmentto recognizehe rightsof people n a democratic ociety uchasTaiwan, o speak reelyabout their viena,evcn hougbthey arecritical ofthe govenrmenl

I am veryconcerned bout hesituation f a numberof politicalactiveTaiwanesewho havebcenarrcsted ndcr 'sedition' nd otherchargcs, nderArticle 100of theCrioinal Code. Free speechs the basisof democracy nd I know that you want Taiwan tobe rccognizcdby other democraticcountriesas an opcnand fair nation.

I hopc thatyouwill gain the rcgardof our country by allowingTaiwanesepeopletoharc the righs of freespccchand ree politicalwill Only henwill your governmenr eacknowledgednd espccted s a true dcmocracy.

Beryl Gaf,fn€y, M.P.

f=;q.t

thrac newsletter june 1992

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