Photo:Introvigne further pointed out that Tai Ji Men case is a case of persecution of human rights beliefs left over from Taiwan's authoritarian period, and if left unresolved, it could affect Taiwan's international image.

MAY 23, 2023

In the midst of the increasingly tense geopolitical situation in Asia, from April 5 to 11, led by Professor Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist, editor-in-chief of Bitter Winter, and a world-renowned religious scholar, visited Taiwan. One of the group's members is Willy Fautré, the director and co-founder of the Belgium-based NGO Human Rights Without Frontiers. A group of 12 leading human rights scholars from eight countries in Europe and the United States, led by Willy Fautré, visited Taiwan as the venue for this year's annual international forum to affirm the freedom, democracy, and human rights that Taiwan retains. The scholars were also invited to meet with the Legislative Yuan, the Supervisory Yuan, and other government agencies and civil society organizations to exchange views on the transformation of Taiwan from an authoritarian era to a democratic political process and freedom of belief, etc. The 27-year-long human rights persecution case of Tai Ji Men in Taiwan also became one of the focuses of scholars and experts.

The members of the international delegation have long been interested in human rights issues, and many of them have a long history with Taiwan. At the invitation of the Taiwan Human Rights Think Tank, New School for Democracy, and Citizen Congress Watch, the delegation held a forum at NTU and met with legislator You Si-Kun at the first stop. Prof. Introvigne said that everyone appreciates Taiwan's efforts in democracy and human rights, and they are also firm friends of Taiwan. Introvigne further pointed out that no country, including the West, is perfect, and he had to mention that there is still an unresolved issue of human rights beliefs in Taiwan, namely the Tai Ji Men case. He said that Taiwan is already a highly democratic country, and the solution to the problem must be through dialogue and communication, and they will pay attention to the internal issues of Taiwan because they are good friends of Taiwan, and the unresolved cases of human rights persecution from the authoritarian period may affect the international image of Taiwan. He pointed out that many international scholars, including American scholar Donald Westbrook, are now concerned about this case. As friendly foreign scholars and human rights experts, he sincerely said, "It would be arrogant for us to tell the Taiwanese how to solve Taiwan's problems, but as friends, we are willing to offer advice."

The scholars' delegation also called on Chen Chu, President of the Supervisory Yuan and Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), a former victim of the White Terror and an advocate of human rights and democracy in Taiwan. Marco Respinti, Executive Editor of Bitter Winter, said that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was officially established by legislation passed by the Taiwan Supervisory Yuan in August 2020, and the NHRC's establishment of the NHRC is a moral and political precedent and example of a unit whose mission is to prevent abuse of power, correct wrongs, and recommend punishments for human rights abusers, a unique feature that makes Taiwan a bastion of global democracy, especially in geographic areas where democracy is scarce. They support Taiwan's defense of freedom of worship and human rights, and say that all misconduct by public officials with respect to human rights should be remedied and corrected as soon as possible in the implementation of transformative justice.

Photo:The scholars also met with the President of the Supervisory Yuan and the National Human Rights Commission(NHRC), whose chairman, Chen Ju, was a victim of the White Terror in Taiwan and an advocate of human rights and democracy in Taiwan.

Pusin Tali, Taiwan's first Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom, also accompanied scholars and experts to the National Human Rights Commission. Ambassador Tali also made an appeal, "International scholars are voicing their support for Tai Ji Men, so it is important not to wait for the amendment of the law, but to make good use of their land and academy, so that they can have a place to cultivate their spirituality, and our country can make good use of Tai Ji Men for international diplomacy.”

Photo:Pusin Tali, Taiwan's first Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom, also accompanied scholars and made an appeal for the vindication of the Tai Ji Men case and the return of their land so that they can cultivate themselves well and the country could use the Tai Ji Men for better international diplomacy.

Both President Yu and President Chen Chu responded that they are well aware of the Tai Ji Men case and that it is being widely discussed internationally, and that they would be happy to adopt the advice and approaches offered by international human rights scholars. Marco Respinti believes that the Tai Ji Men case, which is of international concern, has long been resolved judicially and awaits only a final political solution, and that the Taiwanese government needs to correct the remaining wrongs and make amends for the injustice as soon as possible, and find a just, reasonable, and middle-of-the-road solution to the 27-year-long unresolved human rights violation case under the principles of separation of powers and rule of law. They will also continue to use citizen diplomacy to observe Taiwan's transformation in a friendly manner.

When Donald Westbrook, a lecturer at San Jose State University, saw the list of nearly 8,000 victims on the human rights memorial, he was shocked to see that Chin Him-san, a victim of the 228 White Terror who was imprisoned and tortured, gave a personal tour of the National Human Rights Museum. He believes that the National Human Rights Museum is not only a review of the past but also a link to the present and a look into the future. People need to learn from the past, not to repeat the same mistakes, and then to move forward and improve. The Tai Ji Men case, which took place during the post-authoritarian period, was a trumped-up case, just like the Chin Him-san case, and it has been 27 years since it was vindicated.

As global democracy has declined for 16 consecutive years, the human rights organization Freedom House points out in its 2022 Global Freedom Survey that Taiwan is tied with Iceland and other countries for 17th place among 210 countries and regions worldwide and that Japan is the only Asian country that ranks second in terms of respect for human rights. The experts of the delegation said that they select one country each year to host a forum on human rights and freedom of belief. Taiwan has received international praise for its long-standing efforts in democracy and human rights, and to show the recognition and encouragement of international scholars and human rights activists, they chose to come to Taiwan this year.