7/08/2009
Department of International Affairs - Democratic Progressive Party
DPP Statement on the oppression in Xinjiang
Regarding China's bloody oppression of Xinjiang people, the Democratic Progressive Party released the following statement today (7th):
The Uighurs have long been the victims of unfair treatment from the Chinese government, undergoing political, religious, and cultural persecution. China's suppression of theUighurs and the outright dismissal of basic human rights have also been under the international spotlight. People of Xinjiang launched a peaceful demonstration to protest China's long-term attempt to discredit them and to call for an investigation of last month's Guangdong killings of two Uyghur workers. However, it was quickly and brutally oppressed by the Chinese authority armed with tanks and machine guns. The total number of victims has yet to be confirmed, but an early official estimate revealed 156 dead, 828 injured, and 1434 arrested. We are deeply concerned and strongly condemn the Chinese government for oppressing its people through aggression and violence. We urge the Chinese government can openly face and reveal the truths of this incident of unrest as consolation to the dead, as well as immediately release those who were arrested during the peaceful demonstrations.
China’s poor human rights record has always been a focus in the international community, and the current incident in Xinjiang is yet new evidence of China’s attitude towards people’s rights - a stark contrast to the human rights principles already prevalent in the international community. We sincerely ask the Chinese government that while actively pushing for liberalization and integration with the world economy, the government should also take a serious attitude on universal values, such as democracy, freedom, and human rights so that the country can properly keep in line with the rest of the international community.
Regretfully, while the world is expressing their grave concern on China’s human rights situation, our government, in trying to establish a closer economic relationship with China, has not only turned a blind-eye, but further praised China’s ‘improvements and progresses’ on its human rights. Not only has this sent the wrong message to the international community that Taiwan supports China’s oppression of its people, but also discredit our past efforts in preserving and promoting democracy and human rights values in Taiwan.
Therefore, we strongly urge the Ma administration to voice out its concern on situation in Xinjiang; immediately include issue concerning human rights and democracy in the cross-strait negotiation agenda, so that universal human rights value and democracy can be the foundation of the interaction between Taiwan and China.
