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Taipei, May 3 (CNA) Several Taiwanese groups pressed the government Tuesday to speak out against China's imprisonment of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, saying the more support Ai gets, the better his chances of being treated well and released.
The 53-year-old Chinese avant-garde artist and political activist was detained in China April 3 as he was preparing to board a flight to Hong Kong. He has been charged with unspecified economic crimes.
Over the past month, artists and activists in the international community have been calling on Beijing to immediately free Ai. Demonstrations against his detention have been held in the U.S., UK, Germany and Hong Kong.
"We urge President Ma Ying-jeou to speak out against the treatment of Ai and to condemn the Chinese government's actions, " said political commentator Paul Lin at a press conference Tuesday.
Describing Ai as the conscience of China society, Lin said the artist could have been living a comfortable life had he not chosen to take the side of disadvantaged groups in China.
Ai helped design the showcase 2008 Beijing Olympic Bird's Nest Stadium, which means his artistic abilities were recognized by the Chinese government, said Lin, founder of the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps.
Despite being harassed and beaten up for speaking out on the powdered milk scandal in China and the loss of young lives in the collapse of schools during the Sichuan earthquake, Ai continued to do what he thought should be done, Lin said.
Lee Min-yung, a poet and also a political commentator, shared Lin's views, saying dissidents are a force of progress in a country and should be protected and supported. He also called on local artists to come forward to support Ai.
Lawyer Huang Di-ying, a committee member of the Taipei Bar Association, noted that President Ma signed into law two key international human rights conventions -- the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic and Cultural Rights in 2009 -- which safeguard the universal values of human rights, including the freedom of speech.
"The U.S., Germany, France, and UK governments have asked Beijing to release Ai, but Ma has not yet said anything," Huang noted.
Asked by reporters what can be achieved by President Ma joining the calls for Ai's release, the lawyer said past experience shows that the more support an imprisoned activist has, the greater the chances of him being released and being treated well.
Other groups that have expressed support for Ai include Amnesty International Taiwan, the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, the Taiwan Association of University Professors, the Deng Liberty Foundation, and the Taiwan Friends of Tibet.
Ai was named by Time magazine this year as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. (By Hermia Lin) ENDITEM /pc
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Pressure on government to assist Ai
ONE AND THE SAME:Poet and political commentator Lee Min-yung compared artist Ai Weiwei’s treatment by Beijing to that of early political dissidents in Taiwan
By Vincent Y. Chao / Staff Reporter
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin speaks beneath a portrait of Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei at an event in Taipei yesterday calling for Ai’s release.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Marking the one-month anniversary of famed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s (艾未未) disappearance, several groups and lawmakers yesterday pressed the government to lobby for his safe release following similar calls worldwide.
The outspoken critic of the Chinese regime was arrested on April 3 as he was boarding an airplane for Hong Kong.
He had been expected to meet with representatives from the Taipei Fine Arts Museum three days later to discuss an exhibition in November, a Mainland Affairs Council official said.
His disappearance has provoked a strong response from Taipei, with the council quickly releasing a statement calling on Beijing to release Ai immediately.
However, those calls have since largely subsided amid a continuing wall of silence from Beijing. Chinese authorities have accused Ai, the most renowned of a number of artists and intellectuals who have been swept up by Chinese police since February, of unspecified economic crimes.
“The Taiwanese people must speak out, not only in support of the Chinese people, but also as a measure of protection against our own freedom and human rights,” said political commentator Paul Lin (林保華), a democracy activist from China.
“President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should stand up to support the weak in China and to support human rights activists to showcase Taiwan’s democratic stance — and condemn the Chinese -government’s [role],” Lin added.
Ai, who helped design China’s famed Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics, was widely thought to be untouchable prior to his arrest, in part because of his high international profile.
The arrest suggested that Beijing failed to recognize that artists and dissidents are a “force for improving a country’s society,” poet and political commentator Lee Min-yung (李敏勇) said, comparing Ai’s treatment to the fate shared by early political dissidents in Taiwan.
“We walked [the same] path. This is how we have Taiwan’s freedoms [today],” he added.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers also voiced their support, suggesting that Taiwanese and the Ma administration should be especially vocal given the nation’s close economic and geographical ties to China.
“If we don’t give ourselves a more forceful voice on the Ai Weiwei case, [China] may well see Taiwan as tolerant of such efforts,” DPP Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said.
This story has been viewed 123 times.
Pressure on government to assist Ai
ONE AND THE SAME:Poet and political commentator Lee Min-yung compared artist Ai Weiwei’s treatment by Beijing to that of early political dissidents in Taiwan
By Vincent Y. Chao / Staff Reporter
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin speaks beneath a portrait of Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei at an event in Taipei yesterday calling for Ai’s release.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Marking the one-month anniversary of famed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s (艾未未) disappearance, several groups and lawmakers yesterday pressed the government to lobby for his safe release following similar calls worldwide.
The outspoken critic of the Chinese regime was arrested on April 3 as he was boarding an airplane for Hong Kong.
He had been expected to meet with representatives from the Taipei Fine Arts Museum three days later to discuss an exhibition in November, a Mainland Affairs Council official said.
His disappearance has provoked a strong response from Taipei, with the council quickly releasing a statement calling on Beijing to release Ai immediately.
However, those calls have since largely subsided amid a continuing wall of silence from Beijing. Chinese authorities have accused Ai, the most renowned of a number of artists and intellectuals who have been swept up by Chinese police since February, of unspecified economic crimes.
“The Taiwanese people must speak out, not only in support of the Chinese people, but also as a measure of protection against our own freedom and human rights,” said political commentator Paul Lin (林保華), a democracy activist from China.
“President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should stand up to support the weak in China and to support human rights activists to showcase Taiwan’s democratic stance — and condemn the Chinese -government’s [role],” Lin added.
Ai, who helped design China’s famed Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics, was widely thought to be untouchable prior to his arrest, in part because of his high international profile.
The arrest suggested that Beijing failed to recognize that artists and dissidents are a “force for improving a country’s society,” poet and political commentator Lee Min-yung (李敏勇) said, comparing Ai’s treatment to the fate shared by early political dissidents in Taiwan.
“We walked [the same] path. This is how we have Taiwan’s freedoms [today],” he added.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers also voiced their support, suggesting that Taiwanese and the Ma administration should be especially vocal given the nation’s close economic and geographical ties to China.
“If we don’t give ourselves a more forceful voice on the Ai Weiwei case, [China] may well see Taiwan as tolerant of such efforts,” DPP Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said.
This story has been viewed 123 times.
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艾未未被捕滿月 田秋堇呼籲臺灣民眾聲援
2011-05-03
中國著名的政治異見份子艾未未被捕已經滿月，出生於臺灣長期人權運動世家的民進党立法委員田秋堇，星期三再度在立法院召開記者會，呼籲臺灣民眾站出來關心艾未未。
田秋堇回顧了臺灣著名的美麗島事件政治犯，現任高雄市長陳菊當年被囚禁的時候，世界各地寄了上千封聲援、慰問信件給陳菊。不過陳菊一封都沒收到。但是這上千封信，改善了陳菊在監獄中的待遇。田秋堇語重心長表示，只有中國大陸的人民享受民主和言論自由，臺灣和中國才能有真正的和平。
記者會主辦單位臺灣青年反共救國團發起人林保華表示，艾未未被捕已經一個月，臺灣豈能沒有聲音？他強烈呼籲臺灣發出自己的聲音，去制止馬英九政府和中共同流合污。
詩人李敏勇表示，他從小就看艾青的詩，艾青當年就是反對國民黨的異議份子。異議份子是國家和社會的進步的力量。臺灣就是靠異議份子的付出，才有今天的民主自由。他認為，中國的現況，就像當年國民黨戒嚴時期的臺灣。當年臺灣的政治反抗運動，受到了國際聲援。今天的中國大陸的民主運動，也同樣需要國際聲援，臺灣人民的聲援。
以上是自由亞洲電臺記者胡漢強發自臺北的報導。
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