Friday, December 10, 2010

Dissident urges Taiwan to pay more attention to China's human rights

Taipei, Dec. 10 (CNA) Chinese dissident Wang Dan urged Taiwan's government and people Friday to pay more attention to the development of human rights in China because the issue will impact Taiwan's own security.

Speaking at an international conference to commemorate Taiwan's human rights development and International Human Rights Day, Wang, a visiting scholar at National Tsing Hua University, said human rights is a universal issue that should not be considered as merely domestic affairs of individual countries.

"The human rights issue is not only a political issue but also an issue of civilization. Whether or not China is a civilized country is related to Taiwan's own security because of the proximity of the two places, " the 41-year-old said during the International Conference on the Centennial of Human Rights in Taiwan: Retrospect and Prospect.

"An uncivilized neighbor is definitely not good news for the people of Taiwan, " he said.

Wang was among the core members of the 1989 student movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square that led to the Chinese government's bloody massacre of the protesters. He was jailed from 1989-1993 before being allowed to go into exile in the United States and has been advocating democracy and freedom for China abroad ever since.

The dissident-turned-scholar urged Taiwan to establish a platform, especially on the Internet, for dialogue between everyday people in Taiwan and China and called for Taiwan's more experienced non-government organizations to help their Chinese counterparts develop.

He advised the government to invite more overseas Chinese students to visit Taiwan and experience democracy and freedom first-hand, and added that Taiwan should also make its position clear on every reported case of human rights infringement in China, despite the warmer cross-Taiwan Strait relations.

Wang said he supports more liberalized cross-strait trade ties and President Ma Ying-jeou's plan to allow more Chinese students to study in Taiwanese universities.

At the same time, he said, if Taiwan can help China develop into a more civilized society with improved human rights, the efforts "will win Taiwanese people goodwill and a favorable impression from the Chinese people." (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J