wfn.org | Taiwanese NGOs support human rights advocacy groups in China

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3024~3025 Edition

>February 8~21, 2010

Taiwanese NGOs support human rights advocacy groups in China

>Reported by Sam Lee

>Written by Lydia Ma

February 4, 2010, marked a full year since the disappearance of  Chinese human rights lawyer

Gao Zhisheng. China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group  representative Dr. Yang Jian-li,

along with several Taiwanese NGOs met up on February 3 and urged  Beijing to respect

human rights and free Gao and others in similar situations so that  they can return home to

spend Lunar New Year holidays with their families. Human rights  advocates also called on the

Ma administration to show more concern toward China’s human  rights record.

Gao is a prominent lawyer known for defending human rights  activists and minority groups in

China. He was disbarred, detained, and allegedly tortured before  being taken away by

security police from his home in Shaanxi in the early hours of  February 4, 2009. According to

his family, he has not been heard from since. In response to  queries from his family about his

whereabouts, police claimed he lost his way and went missing in  September 2009. Stories

>similar to Gao’s abound in China.

In related news, Liu Xiaobo, one of the chief writers of Charter  08 was recently sentenced to

11 years in prison, serving as another reminder to all of the  persecution of religious and

human rights groups in China. Liu Xiaobo was one of the chief  architects of Charter 08

manifesto delivered in 2008 and signed by more than 303 people  calling for political reform

and democratization in China. Signatories of this charter include  lawyers, bloggers, officials

and human rights activists, and the number of signatories has  since increased to 10,000

>people.

According to Yang Jian-li, professor at Harvard University,  Beijing keeps a tight rein on its

populace by censoring websites and media reports, arresting or  harassing grassroots

leaders, and restricting people’s right to organize. Hence,  to have 10,000 people express

their desire for freedom and democracy by signing Charter 08 is a  significant breakthrough.

According to Yang, the Ma administration has put too much emphasis  on signing an ECFA

agreement and other trade deals with China at the expense of human  rights and democracy.

The Taiwanese government should pressure Beijing to respect  democracy more and use

tangible actions to support human rights activists.

Taiwan Church News will offer an in-depth coverage of current  human rights situation in China

>in its next edition.

>********************

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local  languages.

You may translate and re-use our articles online only if you  acknowledge the source as

"Taiwan Church News" and list the names of the reporter and  writer.

Contact us before reprinting any of our articles for print  publications.

Direct comments and questions about this article to: i

Visit our website for more news at: http://enews.pctpress.org/  (English)

>http://www.pctpress.org (Chinese)

>********************

> 
>