08/17/2002

Taipei, 17 August: Fifty-two lawmakers from across the political spectrum issued a joint statement Saturday [17 August] pledging to push mainland China to improve its human rights situation.

The lawmakers said in the statement that despite continued growth in trade across the Taiwan Strait, human rights-related exchanges have yet to start. As mainland China's human rights conditions are closely related to the wellbeing of the people of Taiwan, the lawmakers said, they will from now on take the initiative to express their concern about the issue during their visits to the mainland and their talks with Beijing officials.

The statement said that the frequent human rights infringements on Taiwanese businessmen and travelers in mainland China, and the repeated inappropriate deportation of Taiwan Falun Gong followers from Hong Kong, indicate that there is still ample room for human rights improvements in the mainland.

Noting that human rights should be universal values, the statement said Taiwan should not keep silent about the mainland's human rights violations. Instead, it said, the people of Taiwan should keep close tabs on the human rights situation there and take advantage of every possible occasion to express their concern to the Beijing authorities.

The legislative petition campaign was launched by the Taiwan Human Rights Association last month to enlist lawmakers' support for its efforts to push for human rights improvement in the mainland. The signatories to the joint statement include 39 legislators from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, seven from the main opposition Kuomintang, eight from the People First Party, two from the Taiwan Solidarity Union and one independent.

Speaking at a news conference to unveil the joint statement, DPP Legislator Shen Fu-hsiung said progress in the mainland's human rights protection and democratization is the best guarantee for Taiwan's security.

Legislator Lin Cho-shui, also a DPP stalwart, echoed Shen's view, saying that if Beijing focuses on human rights improvement, both Taiwan and Southeast Asia can become safer. Noting that Taiwan's concern for the mainland's human rights conditions can serve as a measurement of how Taiwan treasures its democratic achievements, Lin said that not only Taiwan lawmakers but also Taiwanese investors on the mainland should never hesitate to voice their concern about Beijing's human rights violations and abuses.

Copyright 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Source: Central News Agency web site, Taipei, in English 0848 gmt 17 Aug 02/BBC Monitoring/(c) BBC