Ma urged to end his silence on
detainee
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Human rights groups and Falun
Gong practitioners hold a protest near the Presidential Office in Taipei
yesterday, calling on President Ma Ying-jeou to press the Chinese authorities to
release detained Taiwanese businessman Bruce Chung.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Civic groups staged a 10-hour protest
yesterday in front of the Presidential Office, urging President Ma Ying-jeou
(°¨^¤E) to break his long silence on Beijing¡¦s detention of a Taiwanese Falun Gong
practitioner.
More than 200 representatives from civic groups, lawmakers and ordinary citizens
asked Ma to speak up for his people, in this case Bruce Chung (Á鹩¨¹), who has
been detained in China for 51 days since June 18 after a trip to Yongkang City,
Jiangxi Province.
¡§All I want to say is my father has done no wrong and does not deserve this. And
I will be sitting here until President Ma responds,¡¨ Chung¡¦s daughter Chung Ai
(Áé·R) told a press conference on Ketagalan Boulevard.
Chung was arrested ¡§for hijacking the signal of a Chinese TV station in 2003
from Taiwan with the help of Chinese nationals ¡X a serious national security
concern,¡¨ Xinhua news agency has reported.
Chung Ai and Lai Yu-hsia (¿à¥ÉÁø), Chung¡¦s mother, then went into a mock wooden
jail cell, holding a placard on which was written the number ¡§51,¡¨ saying they
did it for Bruce Chung and to get Ma¡¦s attention on the eve of Father¡¦s Day.
Chung¡¦s family criticized the government for doing too little to rescue Bruce
Chung and to help the family to visit him in China, even though they have staged
two protests on the boulevard.
Speakers at the press conference, held one day before Father¡¦s Day and the
arrival of Chinese officials¡¦ for a round of cross-strait negotiations, accused
Ma ¡X who has always taken pride in his advocacy of human rights ¡X and his
administration of turning a blind eye to the detention.
¡§As a president, a husband or a human being, President Ma is obligated to say
something to Beijing and to do what he can to protect his people,¡¨ Taiwan
Association for Human Rights secretary-general Tsai Chi-hsun (½²©u¾±) said.
¡§Beijing¡¦s rudeness is never a surprise, nor is Ma¡¦s incompetence. Bruce Chung¡¦s
51-and-counting detention is a perfect footnote of the Ma administration¡¦s
decadence,¡¨ Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (¬q©y±d)
said.
¡§I¡¦m calling for everyone to stop referring to Ma as the president until he
takes action and speaks up for [Bruce] Chung,¡¨ Taiwan Association for China
Human Rights president Yang Hsien-hung (·¨¾Ë§») said.
Protesters took turn going inside the wooden cell during the rally, while others
staged a sit-in on the boulevard.
They chanted the slogan ¡§Bring daddy Chung home, President Ma speak up¡¨ and tied
yellow ribbons on the trees to wish Bruce Chung well.
Bruce Chung¡¦s family and representatives of the civic groups submitted a letter
of appeal to the Presidential Office at 5:30pm before a rally in the evening to
wrap up the 10-hour event.
A petition launched by Chung Ai had collected 150,000 signatures and Taiwan¡¦s
Falung Gong practitioners have launched another petition across the country,
said Teresa Chu (¦¶°ûµX), a lawyer who represents the Falun Gong, adding 22
lawmakers have signed the petition calling for Ma to take immediate action on
the case.
DDP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (Ĭs©÷) also demanded the ¡§immediate and unconditional
release¡¨ of Bruce Chung in a message posted on his Facebook page yesterday.
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