Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Joint Statement (12/5/2008)

海內外臺灣客家團體聯合聲明
2008/12/5

中國國民黨自五月在臺灣重新執政後,其對外政策全面傾向中國,不足半年簽了四項協約,對內黨政運作大幅行使威權的動作,打擊臺灣人士手法層出不窮,利用全面掌控的司法權勢隨意提審無辜臺灣人士,執法動作極力羞辱臺灣象徵領導人物,大有過去對臺灣菁英趕盡殺絕,對臺灣民眾殺一儆百的意味,以致民意沸騰,民怨四起。

海外客家臺灣人士隔海遙望家鄉,對中國國民黨全面傾向中國的中心政策及反民主的執政態度,對臺灣菁英被司法恐嚇的危機,對臺灣民眾被剝奪言論自由的厄運,咸感痛心如焚。

最近臺灣民眾對國民黨政府向中國代表百依百順,踐踏臺灣主權的行為非常不滿,堂堂的中華民國百年國號一夜之間變成見不得人了,害怕中國客人看見國旗,甚至總統的頭銜變成先生,孫中山先生在天之靈必也痛心如焚,第一回合交手已全盤退讓,往後的談判將如何穩住陣腳,令人憂心。國共談判歷史印證,向共產黨妥協,對共產黨心存幻想,只會玩火自焚,絕對不會獲得任何利益,中國國民黨應有慘痛的經驗,豈可重蹈覆轍。

海外客家臺灣人士極力支持臺灣社會團體及學生團體集體向政府公開訴求,爭取集會及言論自由,抗爭民權及法律保障,我等認為民眾對政府的要求皆在中國國民黨一向對人民宣傳的三民主義精神範疇之內,民眾的訴求皆因政府對內及對外政策過度偏離黨政對人民的承諾,諸如政府向共產黨妥協主權喪權辱國,警察藉故逮捕無辜人民侵犯人權,檢察官濫權提審無辜臺灣人士,執法動作極力公開侮辱臺灣象徵領導人士,表現極度反民主、反人權的行為,監察機構對這般具濫權或違法嫌疑的行為亦視若無睹,官官相護,以致人民感受政府與臺灣人民對立,致申訴無門終而走向街頭。我等海外客家臺灣人士對臺灣民眾及學生的訴求感同身受極表支持。

海內外客家臺灣人士呼籲國民黨政府對外堅持臺灣主權,維持臺灣獨立現狀,放眼布局全球;對內開誠佈公,落實推行自由、民主、民權、法治等普世價值及臺灣族群平等和諧的理想,落實本土長治久安,真誠親民愛民,體察民意,優先建設臺灣人民的福利。

我等呼籲臺灣朝野珍惜臺灣自由民主體制,共同努力建設臺灣,讓臺灣政局超越因政黨輪替帶來的恩怨相報情結;讓臺灣政黨培養良性競爭環境;讓臺灣社會孕育西方民主風氣,讓全體臺灣人民共享高度民主民權生活,藉以維護並鞏固臺灣身為亞洲民主燈塔的神聖地位及亞洲人民所渴望的民權聖地。

我等同時呼籲臺灣客家與各族群民眾及野草莓學生必要堅持自由、民主、民權、法治普世價值,大家團結守護到底,海外客家人士永遠做你們的後盾,堅決支持你們。

發起團體 北美臺灣客家公共事務協會會長 賴江椿
美洲臺灣客家聯合會會長 王興富
臺灣客家社社長 張葉森
世界臺灣客家聯合會會長 羅能平

Hapa-Na Open Letter to President Bush (8/4/2008)

Taiwan Hakka Association for Public Affairs in North America
20734 Seapine Dr., Katy, Texas, U.S.A., 77450


The Honorable President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
August 4, 2008


Dear Honorable President Bush:
We are Taiwanese Americans who are concerned about the welfare of the much isolated and ignored Taiwanese on Taiwan. We believe it is to the interest of the U.S. that Taiwan is properly settled for its rightful international status in accordance with the wills of the twenty three million Taiwanese, rather than falls into the hands of China.
Since Dr. Kissinger initiated the engagement policy toward People’s Republic of China (China) in the 1970s, the U.S. policymakers have not recognized strongly enough the importance of Taiwan in the U.S. long term strategic interests in the Far East Region, in our dealings with China. From the beginning, China wishes international community to grant it the sovereignty over Taiwan. The U.S. disagrees and merely “acknowledges” China’s wishes that Taiwan is a province of China, in open communiqués. But China is persistent on its claim. Its diplomats use every occasion to stress its claim and distort U.S. intention of “acknowledgement” into “recognition”.
The U.S. administrations have too conveniently allowed China to claim as it wishes in terms of its sovereignty over Taiwan. The administrations have gradually yielded its position by way of silence in the face of China’s diplomats when they openly make the claim. If the U.S. position is not properly and openly reaffirmed soon, we will eventually lose Taiwan as a staunch and important ally in the Far East Region. The consequence is a tremendous erosion of our U.S. strategic position in that region and that the loss can never be restored.
Taiwan has been grossly ignored. At the World Health Organization Annual Conference earlier this year, the Chinese representative openly claimed that China has taken care of Taiwanese health issues. The Chinese official statement is the gravest lie a country has ever openly committed in a United Nations domain. The international community knows that China has aimed over a thousand missiles on Taiwan and the two countries are hostile to each other. There is no representative from China of any kind in Taiwan, let alone taking care of Taiwanese health issues. An official lie to the WHO conference should not have been ignored. In our opinion, the world community’s lack of response to the apparent lie has down graded the dignity of the world organization. It is an unbelievable appeasement gesture to China at the expense of the human rights of the 23 million Taiwanese. We Americans can not be proud of the behavior of our representatives in the management of the Chinese lie at the WHO conference.
China officially yielded its sovereignty of Taiwan to Japan permanently in 1895, witnessed by our President Roosevelt. Since Japan relinquished its sovereignty of Taiwan in 1945, there has been no international treaty that officially settles the international status of Taiwan. Therefore, it is the obligation of the U.S. and the U.N. to uphold the undefined status of Taiwan against the wishes of China. We urge you to take any opportunity to reaffirm a world history that Taiwan is not a province of China since its inception in 1949 and the U.S. policy that the future of Taiwan must be decided with the consent of the 23 million Taiwanese. We must uphold the universal democratic value that our forefathers have profoundly established. We must strive to convince a major power as well as a small country if we mean to promote it worldwide, as you have proclaimed from time to time.

Respectfully yours,
David C. Lai, President

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

TAA Letter To State Department

Ms. Paula J. Dobriansky
Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520


Dear Under Secretary Dobriansky,
As representatives of the major Taiwanese American organizations
we write to you today about an issue of grave concern to us.
We came to this country during a time when our mother country,
Taiwan, was under the oppressive and authoritarian rule of Chiang
Kai-Shek's Chinese Nationalist Party. We became American citizens
to further pursue living in a democratic and free society.
Yes, we rejoiced when, without bloodshed, Taiwan became a
democratic country with direct elections of the president and the
legislature, while freedom of the press blossomed. But recently
Taiwan's democracy has begun to slowly crumble.
During the past eight years of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party
administration, democracy in Taiwan was carefully preserved and
advanced. In 2007, the Worldwide Press Freedom Index ranked
Taiwan No. 1 in Asia and No. 32 in the world, ahead of both the U.S.
and Japan. But a mere five months into the new Ma Ying-Jeou
administration, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
condemned the Ma government's interference with Taiwan's media.
The police have become more aggressive too. On October 11, 2008,
police harassed and arrested a man in front of the presidential
palace for wearing a T-shirt critical of President Ma without citing
any violation of the law. Also, it has been reported that police were
collecting names and taking pictures of participants in political
rallies.
Overall, politically motivated persecution has intensified since Ma
Ying-Jeou became president. Relentless prosecutorial pursuit of
former officials in former President Chen Shui-Bian's administration
continues, while careless leniency is shown to Chinese Nationalist
Party members. Immediate detention without bail has become

Meeting of Taiwanese Organizations with Department of State (11/21/2008)

(11/21/2008)
Minutes of Meeting
Gerrit van der Wees, Formosan Association for Public Affairs
552 7th St. SE, Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel.: (202) 547-3686, Fax: (202) 543-7891
DOS-2008-7. Department of State / AIT
John Norris, Barbara Schrage and Deena Parker
Place: AIT Rosslyn
Date: 21 November 2008, 2:00 pm
Visiting group: Ko Sebo, Bob Yang, Susan Chang, James Chen, Ben Liu, Gerrit
The meeting had been requested by the heads of the Taiwanese-American organizations, who flew into DC especially for the occasion. Schrage/Norris emphasized that the meeting was off the record. After a round of self-introductions Sebo gave an overview of the issues of concern: erosion of democracy & human rights, police brutality during Chen Yunlin’s visit, and judiciary abuse / arrests and detentions.
He emphasized that the lack of dialogue by the government had led to demonstrations and street action, and that the police action had created a repressive atmosphere reminiscent of martial law. He also stated that we are not against improving relations with China, but that Ma was moving way beyond what people wanted. Also said that Ma was moving Taiwan into the Chinese sphere of influence and making it a client state of China.
Bob Yang reminded Norris/Schrage of Bush’s statement that survival of liberty depends on the success of liberty in other lands. He stated that what transpired in Taiwan can only be interpreted as an erosion of democracy and human rights, and urged State / AIT that Ma should be taken to task, also by the US.
James Chen discussed the lack of transparency and accountability and raised the issue of possible secret negotiations between KMT & CCP. He also detailed the fact that the LY is not involved.
John Norris responded that the US is following it closely, and that AIT Director Steve Young has reached out to a broad spectrum in society. He said the US hoped that the agreements with China would lead to a better understanding, and stated that some of the initiatives were undertaken under the CSB administration.
On the domestic situation in Taiwan he stated that the legal system has to take its course, and that the expectation is that the judicial proceedings will take place in a fair, just and impartial manner. He asked whether in our view there was merit to the charges against CSB.
Sebo answered that the issue was not whether there was merit to the charges, but that the law should be applied fairly and evenly: he said that when Ma was charged he was not handcuffed or detailed, although the charges against him were identical to those against CSB. He also questioned why these actions were coinciding with Chen Yunlin’s visit.
Bob Yang questioned the faith the State Dept. had in the judicial process, and urged the US to be more proactive in emphasizing that the process should be scrupulously impartial. Gerrit added that it is questionable whether any of the detained persons – including CSB – can have a fair trial.
Sebo stated that the Ma Administration went way overboard, and that the dignity of former officials had been severely violated. He urged State to make clear that it did not in any way condone or agree with the actions of police and prosecutors. He referred to the joint statement of 20 scholars, and emphasized that the Ma Administration was very sensitive to the US position.
Susan discussed the leakage of information by the prosecutors to the press, and was critical of State Dept. spokesperson McCormick for not mentioning this as a fundamental flaw.
Bob and Sebo also commented on McCormick’s statement, saying that in Taiwan it was interpreted as an endorsement of Ma’s policies. Norris responded that it meant “we are watching closely.”
Barbara recalled that she had been in Taiwan at the embassy in the 1970s. She assured us that the US is watching carefully, and also that she felt it was important for the people on the island themselves to be vigilant. She asked what the reaction of the young people/students was.
Susan responded that her son was in Taiwan and that through him she knew that the students were shocked at how it come have come to this. She referred to the “Wild Strawberries”, and Sebo described that the students used to be rather a-political, but that the present developments galvanized them into action.
Bob Yang referred to Jerome Cohen’s article, which emphasized that “preventive detention” should be used rarely, and urged State to be more outspoken and less conservative. He also recounted how in the US demonstrations had already taken place in NYCity, LA and Houston.
Norris reiterated that the US expected the Taiwan legal system to handle it fairly, and said that he supported improvement of XStrait relations.
Bob and Sebo emphasized that the US should be more forceful in emphasizing US core values, explaining that the McCormack statement could be interpreted either way.
Susan closed the session by asking if the new Obama Administration would have new policies (“we can believe in”). Norris responded that he couldn’t speak for the new Administration, but that it was the expectation that the priorities would be on Iraq, Afghanistan, and that for East Asia there would be continuation.

HAPA-NA 2007 Proclamation Against China's Anti-Cesassion Law

Dear fellow members:
Attached is the Hakka Joint Proclamation that we initiated on March 14, 2007, the second anniversary of the issue by China of the subject law. The proclamation was reported by Liberty Times on March 15, 2007.Before the 4th anniversary, I believe the document is a timely subject and I suggest we post it now on our blog.

David Lai 3/3/2009
============================================
The Libertytimes USA
2007 年3月15日 星期四 (農曆 正月二十六)

全球台灣客家團體反對反分裂法聯合聲明
我們全球台灣客家團體在中華人民共和國制定「反分裂國家法」事件兩週年,為表達關切公告聯合聲明如下: 
台灣是一個民主法治的國家,台灣人民崇尚自由,愛好和平。中華人民共和國自公元一九四九年立國迄今,從未涉足台灣,然而中華人民共和國政府卻無理揚言台灣隸屬中華人民共和國,無時無刻不在國際間打壓台灣外交,威脅利誘要求世界各國縱容其孤立台灣的政策,以致台灣被摒棄於聯合國之外,台灣人的國際人權被長期剝奪,中華人民共和國甚至部署飛彈,恐嚇台灣人民,更於二○○五年制定「反分裂國家法」企圖為其以武力攻取台灣的策略編造法理依據。  

台灣與中華人民共和國從來各自獨立分治,既然無合併的事實在先,無論如何推斷,「反分裂國家法」均無適用的法理。中華人民共和國正在發展成一個具影響力的國家,若不惜以武力併吞台灣,與世界民主化潮流背道而馳,世界各國必將唾棄。 

所以,我們呼籲中華人民共和國放棄對台灣主權及領土的片面主張及利用「反分裂國家法」武力併吞台灣的意圖,移開針對台灣的飛彈,解除反對台灣參加國際組織的打壓政策,並尊重台灣人行使自決的普世基本人權。 

我們也呼籲美國政府領導全世界堅決反對中華人民共和國對台灣的主權及領土的無理訴求,制止中華人民共和國藉「反分裂國家法」動用武力威脅台灣,並領導全世界正式承認台灣的主權、促使台灣成為聯合國的會員國,藉以維護亞太和平。 

我們鄭重聲明,我們堅定地與全體台灣人民站在一起,支持台灣人民與其他國家人民共用普世人權,共創和平繁榮。  

聯署團體:  
世界台灣客家聯合會:會長 羅能平  
全美台灣客家會:會長 鍾振乾  
北美台灣客家公共事務協會:會長 賴江椿