Prosecutors
impose travel restrictions on Chen Hsing-yu
STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Saturday, Jun 06, 2009, Page 1
Prosecutors yesterday placed Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤), the daughter of former
president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), on travel restrictions, saying she would have to
notify authorities if she planned to leave the country.
On Wednesday, Chen Hsing-yu was charged with giving false testimony during
investigations into the former first family for corruption and money laundering
over the past two years.
Diana Chen (陳敏薰), former chairwoman of Taipei 101, was also indicted on
Wednesday for giving false testimony.
The Special Investigation Division under the Supreme Prosecutors Office said
Chen Hsing-yu lied when she said she did not deliver a check for NT$10 million
(US$307,500) under the name of a friend to former first lady Wu Shu-jen's (吳淑珍)
brother — Wu Ching-mao (吳景茂) — in 2004.
The money was transferred into several overseas bank accounts before ending up
in a Swiss bank account jointly owned by Chen Shui-bian's son, Chen Chih-chung
(陳致中), and his daughter-in-law, Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚).
Wu Shu-jen was first indicted on Nov. 3, 2006 for claiming reimbursements
totaling NT$14.8 million from her husband's special “state affairs fund” using
invoices she took from other people.
Soon after he left office last year, Chen Shui-bian, along with his wife and 13
former aides, officials and family members, were charged with taking NT$490
million in bribes during his eight years in office. Held at the Taipei Detention
Center since Dec. 30, Chen has denied all the charges.
Spirit of
Tiananmen alive: US official
‘WEAK AND FECKLESS’: A
congressman criticized the White House for not making the 20th anniversary of
the Tiananmen Square Massacre its major event of the day
By William Lowther
STAFF REPORTER , WASHINGTON
Saturday, Jun 06, 2009, Page 3
A US congressman has blasted the international community for failing to
seriously challenge China’s “massive human rights violations.”
“That includes the weak and feckless response of the United States,” said
Republican Christopher Smith of New Jersey, speaking on the 20th anniversary of
the Tiananmen Square Massacre. “The hard-liners in Beijing have unleashed
unprecedented cruelty on labor leaders, political prisoners, religious believers
and have committed massive crimes against women and children through forced
abortion.”
“The ugly spirit of the massacre continues today unabated throughout China with
brutality and efficiency only the Nazis would love,” he said.
Addressing a conference on Capitol Hill that was called to honor Yu Zhijian (??,
Yu Dongyue (?? and Lu Decheng (魯德成) — known as the “three heroes of Tiananmen” —
Smith called for a major change in attitude by the West.
“With some notable exceptions, including last year’s savage crackdown on
Tibetans, the Chinese leadership has taken their murder and torture behind
closed doors, where the cries, screams and tears of thousands of dissidents are
heard by no one except the torturers themselves,” Smith said.
Smith also lashed out at US President Barack Obama, who was in Egypt, for
failing to personally acknowledge the anniversary.
“While I respect President Obama’s outreach to Muslims in Cairo today, that
event surely could have been scheduled for any other day but the 20th
anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre,” Smith said.
“This solemn remembrance of the victims of mass murder at Tiananmen Square and
the crushing of their bodies and hopes by tanks and bayonets should have been
the White House’s major event today,” he said.
A senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Smith has introduced a
bill — The Global Online Freedom Act — that would prevent US high-tech Internet
companies from turning over to the Chinese police information that identified
individual Internet users who express political and religious ideas that the
communists are trying to suppress.
It also requires companies to disclose how the Chinese version of their search
engines censors the Internet.
“Two of the most essential pillars that prop up totalitarian regimes are the
secret police and propaganda,” he said. “Yet for the sake of market share and
profits, leading US companies like Google, Yahoo, Cisco and Microsoft have
compromised both the integrity of their product and their duties as responsible
corporate citizens.”
“They have aided and abetted the Chinese regime to prop up both of these pillars
in a myriad of ways, including surveillance and invasion of privacy. Google.cn,
China’s search engine, is guaranteed to take you to the virtual land of deceit,
disinformation and the big lie,” he said. “The Chinese government utilizes the
technology of US IT companies to control information in China.”
About two weeks before the 1989 massacre, Lu, a bus driver, Yu Zhijian, a
primary school teacher, and Yu Dongyue, an arts editor, traveled from Hunan to
Beijing, where they threw eggs filled with brightly colored paint at the huge
portrait of Mao Zedong (毛澤東) hanging in Tiananmen Square. They were arrested and
sentenced to 16 years to 20 years in prison.
Following their release, they escaped from China and are now living in the US
and Canada.
As a direct result of torture, Yu Dongyue is mentally impaired and cannot speak
fluently.
Speaking through tears, Lu told the congressional conference: “Superficially,
they destroyed us. My childhood friend sits in front of you now like a living
fossil. This system destroys you as a human being, it attacks your psychology.”
“But we survived and we came out of prison,” he said. “This is not our victory.
It is the victory of justice and it is the victory of your support.”
Hong Kong
carries the flame for Tiananmen
By Paul Lin 林保華
Saturday, Jun 06, 2009, Page 8
Thursday marked the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. For 20
years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has created a mass of lies about what
happened and has used China’s economic development to cover up its murderous
acts.
Self-styled anti-communist President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has said he has been
deeply moved by the CCP’s progress. In stark contrast, the people of Hong Kong
have been staging a protest on the Sunday before June 4 each year; this year
they also held a candlelight vigil on June 4, which was attended by tens of
thousands of people in Victoria Park.
Sunday’s demonstration saw the biggest turnout since 1992, which means that it
was the largest since handover. But there was more to the protest than the 20th
anniversary of the massacre: Recent actions of the CCP and the Hong Kong
government also set off anti-CCP feelings among Hong Kong residents.
First, the CCP has been trying to establish a second power base in Hong Kong to
intervene directly in government affairs because it is unsatisfied with the
administration’s insistence that “Hong Kong people rule Hong Kong.”
Second, on the eve of Tiananmen Square Massacre memorial services, Chief
Executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) — under pressure from Beijing — tried to use
China’s economic development to gloss over the murderous acts of the CCP,
claiming that this represented the opinion of the people of Hong Kong. Tsang
immediately apologized, but his comments caused an uproar.
Third, early last month, Hong Kong University Students’ Union chairman Ayo Chan
(陳一諤) said at a forum on the Tiananmen Square Massacre that China should
rehabilitate the June 4 movement. But he added that the suppression could have
been avoided if students had dispersed before the crackdown. Chan also described
Beijing’s bloody actions as being “slightly problematic” and said Beijing should
not be blamed. As a result, students at the university organized a referendum to
recall Chan.
Fourth, during the live talk show City Forum on Radio Television Hong Kong late
last month, Stanley Lui (呂智偉), the convener of the Hong Kong Youth Development
Network, said the early part of the student movement was patriotic. But he said
that when Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人), vice chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in
Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, brought donations from Hong
Kong to Beijing, the movement changed in character. This reference to support
for China’s democratic movement in Hong Kong as a “cash transfer” incensed Hong
Kong’s democrats.
As many as 61.2 percent of Hong Kongers now think that the Tiananmen student
movement should be rehabilitated, an increase of 12 percentage points compared
with last year and the highest figure since 1997.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and
the pro-democracy camp consist of moderates and radicals, with the moderates
being the mainstream. Although the factions quarrel and pro-China media and
politicians take the opportunity to discredit them, they unite at crucial times
to stop pro-China lawmakers from changing legislative procedures. They also
stage joint protests, because they know who the common enemy is.
The people of Hong Kong are pragmatic and do nothing that strays too far from
their goals. Their support for China’s democracy movement is a sincere
contribution; they avoid attacking one another in order to make best use of
limited resources. They stand up when the values they believe in are in crisis.
They did so six years ago when China forced through its National Security Law,
and they are doing so now as the truth of the Tiananmen Square Massacre
struggles to be heard.
Paul Lin is a political commentator.