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Beijing Vice Mayor's Visit to Taiwan Is a Desecration of Freedom and Human Rights

Dec. 27, 2010 |   By Qing Xi

(Clearwisdom.net) Another Chinese Communist Party high-ranking official who has committed human rights crimes visited Taiwan. He is Beijing's vice mayor, Ji Lin.

The foundation and formation of a free society is ultimately based on the respect for and care of its people. Of course, there must also be citizens' active participation in and rational oversight of public affairs. When a high-ranking official with a poor human rights record sets foot in the free society of Taiwan, his mere presence is, in itself, a desecration of freedom and human rights in that country.

Ji Lin came to Taiwan as Beijing's vice mayor, which is his political identity. But he has another, special identity he earned for persecuting Falun Gong, which is “a human rights scoundrel.” Although he was invited to visit Taiwan as Beijing's vice mayor, his identity as a human rights scoundrel, earned for his participation in the persecution Falun Gong practitioners, cannot be forgotten.

Of course, Taiwan may not have taken into consideration his human rights misdeeds when it invited him, but his sins are well-known and cannot be hidden or covered up.

No matter what Ji Lin discussed with Taiwan government officials, he could not hide his past as a human rights scoundrel, just as Taiwan could not deny knowing about it. As he was promoted to higher and higher positions, one of his political platforms was the severe suppression of Falun Gong. His achievements during this visit to Taiwan may become a political bargaining chip for his next promotion. At the very least it will be a basis for him to consolidate his force and power in the Mainland. Of course, he may still continue persecuting Falun Gong just as he did before. Whether the Taiwan government realized it or not, its invitation was, in essence, a disguised affirmation of his involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong.

Taiwan and the Mainland are separated by a ribbon of water, just as are the Chinese people. Care for fellow inhabitants cannot be isolated due to geographic or political limitations. It is human nature to feel sympathy when one sees innocent people suffering, and the citizens of Taiwan cannot turn a blind eye to the serious violations of human rights taking place in the mainland. Inviting such a high-ranking CCP official to visit means that the Taiwan government is choosing to ignore the CCP's human rights abuses, even as it also shows contempt for Taiwan citizens' human rights.

Whether it's the government or members of the business community, all their achievements are inseparable from the fact that Taiwan enjoys full human rights and social freedom. How can they do business with CCP officials who persecute human rights? Ji Lin, a known human rights scoundrel, was invited by Taiwan to visit, which is an insult to its people! The government of Taiwan must be more responsible.

Actually, Ji Lin is not the only example. All the CCP officials who have persecuted Falun Gong and then visited Taiwan are desecrating Taiwan's freedom and human rights by the mere act of setting foot on its soil. Not everyone in Taiwan takes a laissez-faire attitude towards this issue. The Taiwan Legislative Yuan and many local councils passed motions denying entry to the regime's human rights scoundrels.

Days before Ji Lin's arrival in Taiwan, the Parliament unanimously passed a landmark human rights motion, asking the government to make a clear statement to CCP officials and senior officials who are severely violating international human rights to let them know that they are not welcome. Attorney and Executive Director of the Judicial Reform Foundation Lin Feng-jeng said, “If we invite a rogue to be a guest in our home, what does that say to our children? If we invite someone with a significant human rights violation record in China to Taiwan and offer him VIP treatment, what example are we setting for our children?”

Vice President of the Asian Chapter of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG), Lawyer Chiu Huang-chuan said, “No matter which country a person is from, if an international felon who has committed crimes against humanity is engaged in torture or spreading hatred is allowed to enter Taiwan, it means that the government disrespects the rights of its own citizens. If the person who enters has violated human rights, it can't be said that the government is protecting the rights of its citizens.”

Denying human rights scoundrels' entry into Taiwan is a commonly held and unspoken understanding among the Taiwan people. Ji Lin arrived in Taiwan at a crucial point, when a resolution to refuse human rights violators entry into that country was being proposed. Thus, he naturally became the focus of Taiwan people's attention. At the same time, it provides an opportunity for the citizens of Taiwan to ask themselves: “Are they are happy and content to invite a known human rights scoundrel to be a guest in their home?” We hope that Ji Li will be the last high-ranking, human-rights-abusing, CCP official to visit Taiwan.