|
US senate resolution
touts rights
By William Lowther / Staff reporter in Washington
A resolution urging Taiwan¡¦s government to strengthen its protection of
democratic values and human rights was introduced in the US Senate on Thursday.
The resolution was prompted by a recently released report by the International
Election Observation Mission (IEOM) that concluded Taiwan¡¦s January elections
were ¡§mostly free, but only partly fair.¡¨ The IEOM report said there were
some¡§worrying factors¡¨ that may have affected the election outcome including
vote buying, violations of administrative neutrality and China¡¦s attempts to
influence the vote.
It also added that some actions and statements by the US government ¡§revealed a
lack of neutrality.¡¨
The Senate resolution was introduced jointly by Republican Senator Lisa
Murkowski and Democratic Senator Mark Begich.
Included in the resolution were three major recommendations: The government of
Taiwan should continue to strengthen its protection of democratic values and
human rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of
the press; Taiwan should take into consideration the conclusions and
recommendations of international election monitors as it seeks to strengthen its
democracy; and that the future of Taiwan should be resolved peacefully, in
accordance with democratic principles.
¡§Taiwan¡¦s free and open society plays a stabilizing role in the Asia- Pacific
region and is thus conducive to the interests of states in the region, including
the US, in furthering peace, prosperity and stability,¡¨ the resolution said.
It also stressed that the US government should continue to support democracy and
human rights in Taiwan.
Former Alaska governor Frank Murkowski (Senator Murkowski¡¦s father), who led the
IEOM mission said: ¡§I am pleased to see the work of our mission culminating in
the insertion of the report into the Congressional Record. It is a signal that
much work still remains to be done in terms of fairness of the elections and
establishing a level playing field.¡¨
The IEOM was invited to Taiwan by Peng Ming-min (´^©ú±Ó), chairman of the
International Committee for Fair Elections in Taiwan.
¡§This helps us in Taiwan in our fight to protect the values of democracy, human
rights and freedom of speech, assembly and the press,¡¨ Peng said. ¡§There has
been an erosion of these values during the past four years and we want to ensure
that Taiwan remains a free democracy.¡¨
Mark Kao (°ªÀsºa), president of the Washington-based Formosan Association for
Public Affairs, also praised the introduction of the resolution.
¡§Each election in Taiwan¡¦s young democracy represents a precious opportunity to
improve its capacity for democratic practice,¡¨ he said.
|
