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Beijing, face up to
Tiananmen: DPP
‘CHINA MODEL’: The DPP’s Su said China had to
heal its ‘historical wounds’ to realize the ‘Chinese Dream’ and was joined by
Wang Dan in criticizing Ma’s silence on rights
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) should face the Tiananmen Square Massacre
pragmatically and disclose the truth about the brutal crackdown in what would be
a first step toward democratization, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leaders
said yesterday.
More than two decades after the repression of pro-democracy demonstrators in
Beijing on June 4 and June 5, 1989, the CCP is still keeping the truth and all
information related to the incident from the public and the victims’ families,
DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told a forum on human rights held in China to
commemorate the 24th anniversary of the massacre.
“Democracy, a constitution and political reforms are still taboo subjects in
China despite its economic rise to the world’s second-largest economy,” Su said.
“Though economically successful, the so-called ‘China model’ that sacrifices the
rights of the Chinese people in exchange for economic growth has brought about
social anxiety and pressure.”
The “Chinese Dream” that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has boldly
envisioned cannot be achieved before the CCP heals the country’s historical
wounds by dealing with the massacre honestly, and ensuring the human rights and
freedom of its people with the establishment of social justice, Su said.
Su reiterated that human rights should be the basis of cross-strait engagement
and said that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) lukewarm response toward the
commemoration of the event since he assumed office was regrettable.
Ma had participated in commemoration ceremonies of the massacre and was a vocal
supporter of Chinese dissidents until he took office in 2008.
Chinese dissident Wang Dan (王丹), an exiled leader of the 1989 protest who is
currently a visiting assistant professor at National Tsing Hua University in
Hsinchu County, echoed Su’s frustration with Ma on the sidelines of the forum,
saying that the president has adopted a “surprisingly low standard” toward
Chinese human rights.
“Time has obviously changed a lot of people, including President Ma. It’s a
pity,” Wang said.
Former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said in a press release that the
increasingly powerful Chinese civil society’s pursuit of freedom of speech and
democracy is now an “irreversible trend,” so Beijing should initiate the
democratization process as soon as possible.
“The Chinese government has to realize that the sooner it begins democratizing,
the less the people will suffer. It must have confidence in the Chinese people’s
ability to withstand the trials of the democratic process,” Tsai said.
Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) of the DPP said in his weekly radio talk show
yesterday that it was a pity that the truth of the Tiananmen Square Massacre
remained buried.
Beijing must publicize all information pertaining to the incident and say if
there are dissidents imprisoned for the protest more than two decades later,
Hsieh said.
In related news, a group of DPP lawmakers, including Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬), Chen
Chi-mai (陳其邁) and Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋), yesterday proposed establishing a Tiananmen
Massacre memorial museum in Taiwan.
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