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Bruce Chung tells of
detention hell
Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioner Bruce Chung returned to Taiwan on Aug. 11
after being detained for 54 days by Chinese authorities. He said in a recent
interview with Tzou Jiing-wen, a staff reporter with the ¡¥Liberty Times¡¦ (sister
paper of the ¡¥Taipei Times¡¦) that the personal safety of Taiwanese should be the
government¡¦s binding, guiding principle and that China must be informed of the
Taiwanese government¡¦s resolve on the issue. This is part two of a two-part
interview
Bruce Chung, the Taiwanese Falun
Gong follower who was detained in China, speaks at a press conference in Taipei
on Aug. 13.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Liberty Times: Your forced detention
highlights the seriousness of the issue of personal safety. Do you have any
suggestions you would like to make to the government concerning the issue?
Bruce Chung (Á鹩¨¹): I am a very lucky man in that I was able to return
safely. My luck primarily stems from the public¡¦s concern over the issue, and
the government had to consider the public¡¦s perception of it after the media
started reporting the incident.
I knew of a Taiwanese businessman who was unable to return to Taiwan because of
tax issues in China. He spent a lot of money and finally settled down in China
after getting medical parole, but he has been unable to return to Taiwan.
The laws in China are of a very low standard when it comes to safeguarding human
rights, and it is because of this that there are some regulations in place that
more democratic societies can¡¦t accept, and it is these regulations that they
have said I violated.
However, the least the Taiwanese government could have done after learning of
the incident was to strongly convey to China what the Taiwanese standards for
democracy and human rights are.
Second, these types of issues must hold sufficient weight with the government so
that systematic measures can be taken once someone is detained. The government
must let the family members of the victim know that the government cares and
will continue to keep a close tab on the issue.
The government should also make the first move, inviting all victims of such
incidents to come to the government and register their names so the government
can track the issues for them.
People who have friends or family in China doing business knows that if anything
happens to them in China, it is useless to go to the Taiwanese government
because the government cannot give them any help.
The only thing Taiwanese businesspeople in China can do is establish good
relations with people and grease the right palms. Because the Chinese agencies
know that this is the only way Taiwanese businesspeople work, they will make up
criminal charges ¡X such as narcotics and firearms trafficking or taxation ¡X to
get money.
There are a lot of people in the Chinese government who count on the fact that
as Taiwanese, you try to smooth things over and they exploit you that way. The
government should have a specific stance on this issue showing that it is
concerned for the personal safety of its citizens in China.
This has nothing to do with political parties, but is rather a principle that
governments must adhere to, and it is clear from my example that Taiwan¡¦s
government has the backing of its people.
LT: The media is less than understanding toward the president and his
administration for its weak public stance on this issue. Has the government been
more supportive of your family in private?
Chung: That¡¦s a very vague question, but if it¡¦s from the range of zero
to one, then I would say that the government¡¦s support to my family was less
than 0.5. The Straits Exchange Foundation stated its concern over the matter,
but has it actually conveyed to China a firm stance on protecting Taiwanese? Has
it explained to China the standards of Taiwan¡¦s human rights? This I don¡¦t know.
LT: From your personal experience, should the government take a
higher-profile stance on the issue, or remain low profile?
Chung: Of course it should be a high-profile stance. The government
exists to protect the safety of the people, and only by doing so would it be
supported by the will of the public, and vice versa.
It is because of the many people who made their support of me known that I was
not subjected to torture while in Chinese detention, and it is also because of
them that I have returned safely.
To prevent the persecution of those without power by those with power, the first
thing is for the general public to clearly know the truth about the persecution
or oppression. Second, those who know the truth have to muster the courage and
conscience to stand up and tell the truth.
Of the two, the former is absolutely necessary.
My experience can incidentally be related to the oppression Falun Gong
practitioners suffer under the Chinese government in China. From what I know, at
least 3,586 Falun Gong practitioners have died under Chinese oppression, to say
nothing of those who have been imprisoned illegally or are being tortured.
President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) has expressed his concern with the family members
of victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the 228 Incident in the past,
and I remember him talking about freedom of religion and human rights once when
he visited a Falun Gong meeting back when he was mayor of Taipei.
I think that he is an honest man, which is why I anticipate that he can be more
vocal in his support of Falun Gong and his concern for freedom of religion in
China.
At the very least, he must be concerned with the personal safety of Taiwanese,
because that is the reason a government and a country exist.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
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