November 14,2020
On October 24, 2020, United Nations Day was observed globally to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. On this day, a forum co-organized by nearly 30 non-governmental organizations was held at the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. Distinguished speakers, including law professors, attorneys, and other visionary leaders, shared their thoughts on a landmark case of human rights violations--the Tai Ji Men case--and called for true implementation of the ICCPR and ICESCR.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized in his message on UN Day, “On this anniversary, I ask people everywhere to join together. . . . Together, let us uphold the enduring values of the United Nations Charter. Let us build on our advances across the decades. Let us realize our shared vision of a better world for all.”
Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, the Zhang-men-ren (grandmaster) of Tai Ji Men and the vice president of the Association of World Citizens, delivered welcome remarks, emphasizing the following points:
Since the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, the protection of human rights and the maintenance of global justice and security have been important goals and the guiding principles of the United Nations. The preamble to the United Nations Charter expresses the determination of mankind. If every country and every citizen of the world is determined to prevent the current and future generations from repeating the tragic wars experienced by mankind in the 20th century, we must uphold our conscience and protect basic human rights and dignity. With love as the starting point and everyone safeguarding their conscience and respecting and tolerating each other regardless of gender, race, rank, nationality, or religious belief, we can truly realize justice, equality, freedom and the bright future we want!
Lawyer Huang Li-rong, chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Association of World Citizens, shared some key points of the Tai Ji Men case: “On July 13, 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that Tai Ji Men was not guilty of tax evasion or any other charges. Why has the tax case dragged on for more than 20 years? Tai Ji Men won 18 times in the course of administrative remedies, except for the consolidated income tax case for 1992, where the Supreme Administrative Court made a final decision before the criminal division of the Supreme Court made its final decision on the case. In 2019, the National Taxation Bureau (NTB) voluntarily corrected the taxes related to the monetary gifts for the grandmaster of Tai Ji Men to zero for five of the six years, except for 1992. It is evident that the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision on the consolidated income tax for 1992 was wrong, but the Administrative Enforcement Agency forcibly auctioned the land of Tai Ji Men, and then the land was taken over by the NTB. That showed the arrogance of the enforcement agency.”
Attorney Huang also shared an incident on September 19, where Ms. Huang, a volunteer for tax reform, was arrested by the police simply for holding a protest sign. Attorney Huang said, “The Liberty Times reported on July 14 that last year the Administrative Enforcement Agency made a NT$23 million budget for bonuses for 2020. The Hsinchu Branch of the Administrative Enforcement Agency, through an official document, asked the Shilin Branch to report its performance and split half of the bonus for carrying out the auction of Tai Ji Men’s land. Couldn’t the people ask the chief enforcement officer how much bonus she received for handling the case? Ms. Huang, a volunteer for tax reform, just exercised her freedom of speech, hoping that the country would pay attention to this issue and raise people’s awareness about the problem. A dozen police officers arrested her just because the accuser is a chief enforcement officer? The police have violated the Police Power Exercise Act and violated Ms. Huang’s freedom of speech, which is guaranteed by the ICCPR and ICESCR.”
Chiu Rong-Chu, former vice dean of the College of Law of National Taiwan University, pointed out that the Tai Ji Men case has dragged on for more than 20 years. He said the government is being irresponsible to watch its people take to the streets to fight for justice. He urged the government to deal with injustices and vindicate cases such as the Tai Ji Men case because human rights are of utmost importance.
Lawyer Sean Chen, a senior partner of HW Attorneys-at-Law, pointed out that supervising the government is important for upholding democracy and the rule of law and preventing the government from abusing its power. He also made the following comments:
The abuse of government power has three characteristics: creating wrongful prosecution and conviction, taking advantage of the media to stigmatize an individual or group, resisting the truth and the rule of law. Take the Tai Ji Men case for example. The National Taxation Bureau determined that Tai Ji Men was not a cram school, but still taxed it as a cram school for one year (1992)! How does the NTB protect the taxpayers’ rights when it violates the principle of consistency? He called on everyone to stand up and support the vindication of fabricated cases.
Dr. Chen Tze-lung, former professor of law at National Taiwan University and chairman of the Taiwan Association for Financial Criminal Law Study, said that human rights mean that everyone has the right to express his/her opinions and thoughts and participate in politics. He also made the following comments:
There can be no human rights if a person can be interrogated, arrested as an offender of an active crime, detained late at night, and imposed restriction on his/her residence simply for holding a protest sign. The perpetrators in the Tai Ji Men case, including the judges who made wrong decisions, the prosecutor who abused his power and brought the wrongful prosecution, and tax officers and administrative enforcement officers who committed illegal expropriation, should be held accountable. Saying no to "nonsense and organized crimes by the government" is a way to safeguard human rights.
Dr. Huang Chun-Chie, a distinguished professor of the Department of Finance and Law of National Chung Cheng University, expressed his opinions on the September 19 Incident and made the following comments:
Justice's Interpretation No. 445 and No. 718 specifically stated that the people are entitled to freedom of assembly without fear, not to mention that Ms. Huang was simply holding a protest sign. As to the Tai Ji Men case, Taipei High Administrative Court has issued an official document to the National Taxation Bureau of the Central Area, requesting it to re-examine the case because the taxes had been corrected to zero for the other years, which indicated that the auction of Tai Ji Men’s land was questionable. The volunteer was expressing her opinion about the enforcement and the bonus involved. The right to freedom of speech is protected by the ICCPR and ICESCR, and many scholars also criticized the practice of awarding performance bonuses to tax officials and enforcement officers.
Wu Ching-chin, associate professor of law at Aletheia University, pointed out that in 2009, Taiwan incorporated the ICCPR and ICESCR into domestic law. He also made the following comments:
This year, the first question on the exam for prospective judicial officers and lawyers was about a case involving holding a sign. Obviously, the examiner hoped to raise future judges’ awareness about human rights protection when they try such cases in the future. According to justice’s interpretation No. 718 in 2014, no permission is required for emergency and occasional assemblies and demonstrations. Ms. Huang was just holding up a sign with a question on it, about a possible bonus of NT$100,000 or NT$1 million. Was that slander? The question was based on facts! Justice’s interpretation No. 509 explained that if a person has reasonable reasons to believe that what he/she expresses is true, the person shall not be required to bear the criminal responsibility of the crime of defamation. The basic rules and laws that exist in other countries are available in Taiwan too, but they need to be PRACTICED. It is imperative to truly implement the ICCPR and ICESCR.
Photo:To celebrate United Nations Day in 2020, nearly 30 civil society organizations jointly organized a forum to review the human rights issues in Taiwan.