UN body criticizes China over torture allegations

AFP, GENEVA
Sunday, Nov 23, 2008, Page 1

A UN body has expressed deep concern over allegations of widespread torture in China and called on the country to fully investigate rights abuses.

The UN Committee Against Torture, meeting in Geneva, also revisited the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, urging the government to grant reparations and investigate the crackdown.

“The committee remains deeply concerned about the continued allegations, corroborated by numerous Chinese legal sources, of routine and widespread use of torture and ill treatment of suspects in police custody, especially to extract confessions or information to be used in criminal proceedings,” it said in a report released on Friday.

It hit out at “continued reliance on confessions as a common form of evidence for prosecution, thus creating conditions that may facilitate the use of torture and ill-treatment of suspects,” quoting the case of dissident and human rights militant Yang Chunlin (楊春林).

The committee also criticized China's handling of its relations with the Tibetan Autonomous Region, noting there had been “longstanding reports of torture, beatings, shackling and other abusive treatment, in particular of Tibetan monks and nuns.”

Regarding the Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown, the committee said China “should conduct a full and impartial investigation” of the events.

It added that Chinese authorities should “provide information on the persons who are still detained from that period” as well as “offer apologies and reparation as appropriate and prosecute those found responsible for excessive use of force, torture and other ill treatment.”

More generally, the committee pointed to “reports of abuses in custody, including high numbers of deaths ... Re-education through labor for individuals who have never had their case tried in court, nor the possibility of challenging their administrative detention,” and secret detention facilities.

Research uncovers grisly truth about Lanyu skinks
　

MOTHERLY LOVE: Parental care is extremely rare among reptiles, and although they are known to devour their offspring, Lanyu’s lizards are not as bad as they sound

STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Sunday, Nov 23, 2008, Page 2
　

Long-tailed skinks on the nation’s outlying islet of Lanyu (蘭嶼) have been observed to eat their offspring — the mother lizards will eat their own eggs as a response to the frequent invasions of predatory snakes, Huang Wen-san (黃文山), an associate researcher at the National Museum of Natural Science reported on Friday.

Researchers studying the lizards suspect that the filial cannibalism is related to the mothers’ survival instincts, which direct them to strengthen themselves in defense against predators.

Huang — who has studied for more than a decade the behavior of the long-tailed skinks, or Mabuya longicaudata, and its enemy the Taiwan kukri snake, or Oligodon formosanus — first reported in 2006 the discovery of bizarre behavior among lizards on Lanyu. He documented that mother’s protected their eggs before they hatch, which is unusual among lizards.

“Parental care is extremely rare among reptiles,” said Huang, adding that even the long tailed skink in Taiwan proper does not behave likewise. Female lizards always leave the clutch once they complete egg-laying.

During subsequent observation, Huang said he found an even more peculiar behavior among the lizards — the mother lizards would occasionally devour the whole clutch of her eggs.

Huang, who started his study of the two species after being “fascinated” years ago by the snake’s egg-foraging behavior, said he could not imagine at first why a species that tends to protect its offspring would engage in cannibalism.

Huang eventually concluded that filial cannibalism is similar to a “scorched earth policy.”

Mother lizards will fight back to protect their eggs against a snake’s intrusion, Huang reported. However, if the frequency of snake attacks exceeds a certain level, some mother lizards — especially pregnant ones — will sometimes consume all the eggs before they abandon the nest.

In a paper published on Aug. 27 in the journal Behavioral Ecology, Huang hypothesized that when the risk is too high to protect the eggs, the mothers try to save themselves by feeding on the eggs to strengthen themselves thus leaving no eggs for the snakes, so as to diminish their strength.

China preparing to execute ‘spy,’ rights group says

AFP, BEIJING
Sunday, Nov 23, 2008, Page 2

A London-based rights group said yesterday that China was preparing to execute a Chinese businessman convicted of spying for Taiwan, and urged Beijing to halt the execution.

Amnesty International urged China not to execute businessman and medical scientist Wo Weihan, who was sentenced to death in May last year for spying for Taiwan, the group said in a statement.

Wo was found “guilty of discussing the health status of senior Chinese leaders, which is considered to be top secret, and of sending information from a classified magazine available in the Chinese Academy of Sciences library,” it said.

After refusing visitation rights for nearly four years, the Beijing High Court on Tuesday told Wo’s family to apply for a visit within seven days, the statement said.

“This sudden move suggests that ... the Beijing Municipal Higher People’s Court is preparing to execute Wo Weihan,” it said.

Calls to the High Court went unanswered yesterday.

In April, Austrian President Heinz Fischer appealed to Beijing to spare Wo, who formerly lived in Austria.

Amnesty said Wo was detained in Beijing in 2005, and according to the court verdict he confessed to the charges while in detention.

But his family said the confession was made in the absence of a lawyer and that he later recanted his confession, it said.

Amnesty “expresses concern that Wo Weihan may not have received a fair trial according to international standards, particularly as he was not allowed prompt access to a lawyer,” the statement said.

DPP chairperson joins human rights rallies
　

By Rich Chang
STAFF REPORTER, WITH CNA
Sunday, Nov 23, 2008, Page 3
　

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday called for a swift and overall policy revamp to deal with what she called a regression in Taiwan’s human rights.

“Taiwan’s human rights situation has significantly regressed in recent months, partly because of a flawed system and partly because of the mindset of the nation’s rulers and law enforcement authorities,” Tsai said, adding that “the two facets are of great significance to a progressive society.”

Tsai made the comments prior to a sports meet sponsored by a Taipei City association of builders and contractors.

‘CRITICAL MESSAGE’

The US-based non-governmental organization Freedom House urged the Taiwanese government on Thursday to form an independent panel to investigate violent clashes early this month between police and protesters who were demonstrating over a visit by Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林). Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor said that such an investigation would “send a critical message that the new government of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is interested in upholding the democratic values of transparency and accountability.”

Later yesterday, Tsai took part in two rallies held to address the human rights of those facing prosecution, one in Taipei and another in Tainan.

The event in Taipei, organized by the office of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and several pro-independence groups, was held at Yuanshan Park in Taipei yesterday evening.

LED IN PRAYER

It began with a prayer led by Reverend Lo Rong-kuang (羅榮光), a minister with the Taiwan Presbyterian Church.

Tsai didn’t give a speech. She left shortly after the prayer and headed to the other event in Tainan, held by the DPP’s Tainan branch.

Thousands of people participated in the gathering in Taipei, calling for better protection of sovereignty, democracy, human rights and justice.

DPP heavyweights including former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and former DPP chairmen Yu Shyi-kun and Su Cheng-chang (蘇貞昌) also attended the rally.

Chen was detained on Nov. 12 on suspicion of money laundering, taking bribes, forgery and embezzlement during his two terms in office from 2000 until earlier this year. He has denied the allegations and immediately began a hunger strike when he was detained to protest what he called “political persecution.”

‘Buddha Boy’ returns to meditation in the jungle

AFP, KATHMANDU
Sunday, Nov 23, 2008, Page 5

A young man believed by followers to be a reincarnation of Buddha has returned to Nepal’s jungles to meditate alone, police said yesterday, as scholars cast doubt on his supporters’ claims.

“Buddha Boy” Ram Bahadur Bomjam, 18, became famous in 2005 after supporters said he could meditate motionless for months without water, food or sleep.

“Bomjam went back into the jungle late [on] Friday and all the devotees have left,” police officer Gobinda Kushwaha said from Neejgad, a town in Bara District, 60km south of Kathmandu.

The “Buddha Boy” reappeared earlier this month after supporters said in March last year that he was going to meditate for three years in an underground bunker, although he was spotted on two occasions.

For the last 10 days, he has been blessing thousands of devotees who came daily to the site in dense jungle close to Neejgad. The president of the Nepal Buddhist Council said claims by his supporters that he was a reincarnation of Siddartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, were not credible.

“We do not believe he is Buddha. He does not have Buddha’s qualities,” said Mahiswor Raj Bajracharya, president of the Nepal Buddhist Council, a center for Buddhist study and research in Kathmandu.

“He may have achieved great heights in meditation, but that alone does not make him a Buddha. A Buddha needs life experience. A young man who has not seen the world at all cannot be a Buddha,” Bajracharya said.

Despite being officially secular, Nepal — where around 80 percent of people are Hindu and 11 percent are Buddhist — remains a deeply spiritual place.

“This is a country where people worship idols and stones, and everyone educated or not believes in the supernatural,” the Buddhist scholar said.

Musicians unite for Strawberries
　

By Yen Lu-fen 顏綠芬
Sunday, Nov 23, 2008, Page 8

When Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) visited Taiwan earlier this month, people were astonished to see our government using authoritarian methods to obstruct members of the public who only sought to voice their opinions. Putting “honored guest” Chen in first place, the government dispatched 7,000 police to protect him. Treating the Taiwanese public as troublemakers and rioters, police officers grabbed national flags, broke flagpoles and forcibly dispersed and arrested people in the streets just for trying to raise their voices in protest.

We musicians usually spend our time playing, composing and listening to the music of all nations. Among us there are those who specialize in Western, Chinese or popular music. During Chen’s visit, the police forced a music shop called Sunrise Records to stop playing music and close down for the day. The shop was just playing music, so why, we ask, did the police handle the matter in such a repressive way?

This is the first time our government has received such “honored guests” from China. If the police were to make a critical evaluation of these events and explain to the public that they used excessive means to enforce the law because they lacked experience and if suitable penalties were imposed on the officers who ordered such actions and apologies were made, we think everyone could forgive them.

What we see in reality, though, is National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) sticking to his lies about the events, asserting arrogantly that there was nothing inappropriate about the police’s actions, while Beitou precinct police chief Lee Han-ching (李漢卿), who was in charge at the Sunrise Records incident, insists that if the same situation happened again he would handle it in the same way.

Musicians seek truth, kindness and beauty in life, not such ugliness as this.

This is why more than 1,000 musicians have signed a protest letter in just 10 days. It isn’t just about Sunrise Records, or the Songs of Taiwan (台灣之歌) CD that the shop was playing. They could have been playing Hakka or Cantonese songs, or English, or Tibetan, or Vietnamese. Whatever the music, we would still want to stand up for musical freedom.

The “Wild Strawberries” are young people who have grown up in an environment of freedom and democracy. They have sacrificed time and energy to hold a sit-in vigil at Liberty Square. In doing so, they have come under a lot of criticism. Determined to protect our hard-won freedom and democratic rights, they reject interference from either political camp. Because of their lack of resources, government officials have not found it necessary to pay much attention to them. Instead, many bureaucrats have openly or implicitly ridiculed the protesting students, and the few who initially expressed support were gone after a day or two.

That is why, after signing the open letter, we have decided to go one step further by holding an open-air concert at the scene of the vigil in Liberty Square from 3pm to 6pm today. Taking part in the concert will be composers and playwrights, traditional Chinese music performers, outstanding classical musicians, wind instrument players and others. There will be performances of traditional Taiwanese music, including Taiwanese opera, the folk song Joyful Spring (百家春), folk song improvisation and much more.

We want to show everyone that music knows no borders. Chinese people who respect Taiwan are our friends. Chinese culture is an important part of our heritage, and equally dear to us are the universal values of freedom and democracy.

Yen Lu-fen is a professor in the Department of Music and Graduate School of Musicology at the Taipei National University of the Arts.

More groups must join ‘Ing’ as she faces ‘Ying’
　

By Paul Lin 林保華
Sunday, Nov 23, 2008, Page 8

Although Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) has left Taiwan, the tension between the government and the opposition remains. Not only are there wounds that need healing, but Taiwan must also continue to move forward.

Did the large anti-Chen demonstration on Oct. 25 bring any concrete results? No. Taiwan Association of University Professors Chairman Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴) foresaw that the government in its arrogance would dismiss public opinion and so he staged a hunger strike outside the Legislative Yuan, calling for amendments to the nation’s electoral system and the Referendum Law to ensure the right of the Taiwanese public to be the “bosses” of their country. To hold onto these appeals, people with different backgrounds have shown their support by joining the ongoing protest.

The protest against the Nov. 6 meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chen hasn’t ended. Students assembled to protest alleged police brutality toward demonstrators and the danger to human rights this behavior posed. After being dispersed by police, the student demonstrators re-assembled at Liberty Square and launched the “Wild Strawberries Student Movement.” One of their demands is an amendment to the ill-designed Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法), according to which their demonstration is illegal. But isn’t this the reason they fight this flawed law? It is an act of civil disobedience.

Although Taiwan is a democracy, transitional justice has not yet been carried out. This has left many ineffective systems in place from the past authoritarian regime, and legislation has not had time to catch up. These remainders and the Chinese Communist Party’s dictatorship have put Taiwan’s democracy at risk. Because the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration failed to fix these problems, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) resumed these old practices following its return to power. The public has had to resort to civil disobedience to resist the regression of democracy and to establish a healthier civil society.

When DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was elected as the DPP’s party leader in May, she expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue with civil organizations, the party’s long-term allies, saying she would consult both with elites inside and outside the party and with intellectuals from all walks of life. Maybe she has been too busy dealing with her party’s constant internal and external conflicts to do so. But following the government’s reactions to Chen’s visit to Taiwan, its economic policies, tactics of political persecution and humiliation of the judiciary, the DPP must strengthen its cooperation with these groups as it struggles with the KMT. The old, the middle-aged and the young must come together as a positive force for Taiwan’s future development.

The government and the media outlets under its influence continue to block and distort these campaigns, especially the “Wild Strawberries Student Movement.” We don’t need any reasoning back and forth — all the government needs to do is give a straight answer to why the Chinese flag was allowed on Zhongshan N Road while people holding the Taiwanese flag met with violence. This was in violation of basic civil rights, and it has impacted on national identity.

Trying to purge its image of violence, the government struck first by calling Tsai “Violent Little Ing” (暴力小英). Tsai has changed that name to “Anti-violence Little Ing” (抗暴小英), and instead calls Ma “Violent Old Ying” (暴力老英). This is basically a confrontation between the general public and an authoritarian government. If Ma continues to do as he pleases and lets social conflict intensify, anything could happen.

Paul Lin is a political commentator.