Taiwan still stands as a beacon of hope for the rule of law and democratic development in Asia but recent government related human rights violations have caused its rays to shine less brightly said David Kilgour, a Canadian Human Rights Lawyer, urging the public to closely monitor the (Ma Ying-jeou) Administration in order to safeguard the country's democracy.
Kilgour, the VP of the Taiwan-Canadian Friendship Group, in the Canadian Parliment, a well known international human rights lawyer, activist and former prosecutor, was one of the invited speakers at the International Forum on the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights held in Kaohsiung City on Thursday.
Citing the example of police brutality and riots last month during the visit of Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin, Kilgour said, many friends of Taiwan were concerned about dramatic deterioration in the rule-of-law, human dignity and democratic practices in Taiwan in recent months.
"To tell people that they couldn't wear 'I love Taiwan T-Shirts or hold the national flag was ridiculous," he said in an interview with the Taipei Times.
"I hope that President Ma Ying-jeou, a Harvard trained man, will understand that democracy is more than about having elections every four years. Democracy is about such things as allowing people to protest peacefully," said Kilgour.
Rest here from Taipei Times
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