Global Tai Ji Men dizi protest against 24-year persecution by the Taiwanese government
The Taiwanese government illegally auctioned off Tai Ji Men’s property on August 21 while over two thousand Tai Ji Men dizi (similar to students) protested outside the enforcement agency in Miao-Li in central Taiwan. The illegal auction has outraged Tai Ji Men dizi and other conscientious people worldwide!
Dr. Chih-Lung Chen, former professor of law at National Taiwan University, Dr. Lukas Lien, a professor at Osnabrück University (in Germany) stationed in Taiwan, and Associate Professor Chien-Yuan Tzeng at Chung Hua University all voiced their support for Tai Ji Men at the auction site. Professor Chen accused the government of committing 10 violations of law through this unlawful auction. Associate Professor Tzeng also said that the government has violated the law. Regarding the Tai Ji Men case, 296 legislators in Taiwan have pointed out the violations of law by the taxation bureau and demanded the revocation of the unlawful tax bills.
Since August 15, global Tai Ji Men dizi has protested in cities throughout the world, condemning the Taiwanese government for abusing their human rights and demanding justice. People in Taiwan have been protesting against the Taiwanese government’s handling of the Tai Ji Men case for the past 40 days, but the government, ignoring their outcry, still unlawfully auctioned Tai Ji Men’s assets on August 21. Tai Ji Men dizi cannot bear it anymore and are seeking help from the international community!
In addition to Taipei and Los Angeles, they have protested in other major cities, such as Washington D.C., New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Melbourne, Tokyo, Paris, London, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Vancouver, and Castellon in the past few days.
Twenty-four years ago, a prosecutor in Taiwan named Hou Kuan-Ren fabricated the Tai Ji Men case. He used false evidence and false witnesses to charge Tai Ji Men of fraud and tax evasion. Because of this wrongful prosecution, Tai Ji Men’s reputation was severely damaged and it was dragged into three criminal trials spanning 10 years and 7 months. The three-level courts all found the prosecutor’s indictment baseless and all ruled in favor of Tai Ji Men. In 2007, Taiwan’s Supreme Court made the final judgment on the case, stating that Tai Ji Men was not guilty of fraud, tax evasion, or violation of tax codes.
“At the time, we thought the case was settled and our nightmare was over,” said Tai Ji Men dizi Nunu Tsai. However, Taiwan’s taxation bureau used the prosecutor’s untrue indictment as evidence and imposed unjustified taxes on Tai Ji Men. To this day, the taxation bureau still uses false information in the indictment to tax Tai Ji Men and even transfer the case to the enforcement agency. “Taiwan’s enforcement agency illegally auctioned Tai Ji Men’s property today. That’s why we are so outraged! This is a case of gross injustice!” she said. Tai Ji Men doesn’t owe the government any money, but the Taiwanese government auctioned Tai Ji Men’s property.
Pamela Chen, a Tai Ji Men dizi living in California and an immigrant from Taiwan, said that her life as an immigrant in the United States is not easy. “Fortunately, I have been practicing Tai Ji Men Qigong. That has helped me stay healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually, so I am very grateful to my shifu (master). Now that Taiwan’s government illegally auctioned our property in Taiwan, our academies in the United States might be forced to shut down, too. Therefore, we have to stand up and speak out,” she said.
Many experts in various fields have shared their opinions on the Tai Ji Men tax case.
London-based attorney Alessandro Amicarelli, spokesperson for the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB), said that “We expect in which that Taiwan may solve Tai Ji Men case, as I said, in the best possible way, erasing all the tax claims that have been made.”
Willy Fautré, co-founder and director of Human Rights Without Frontiers International, expressed his willingness to help Tai Ji Men seek justice and said that “It’s to be hoped that the current government of Taiwan would be able to repair the damage caused to Tai Ji Men.”
Dr. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist of religion, said that “Now, this case involving Tai Ji Men, is a residual of the past, it dates back to a different year in Taiwan’s history, that was 1996. Now we are in 2020, and if Taiwan, as I am sure it does, wants to perpetuate its image of a free country, a democratic country, a country friendly to human rights and religious liberty, and even a regional example, I believe it is great time that this ghost of a different past is laid to rest, and justice is done for taxpayers and for Tai Ji Men.”
Kenneth Jacobsen, a professor of law at Temple University and advisor to former President Bill Clinton, said that “In the Tai Ji Men case, it’s been determined that the taxes that have attempted to be collected are improper. And this is disturbing because the continuation and perpetuation of injustice is as bad as the commitment of that injustice in the first place. And that is what’s happening here, in the Tai Ji Men tax case.”
Marco Respinti, Italian professional journalist, editor-in-chief of International Family News, said, “As anyone can see, Tai Ji Men suffered injustice. What does this mean? It means that taxpayers’ rights are not well protected within the system, and that the system itself, systematically, turns against taxpayers.”
“We see Tai Ji Men has suffered many injustices. They have been fighting for 24 years. This has set a record, whether in Hong Kong or in Taiwan,” said human rights attorney Shiang Pu from Hong Kong, adding that “A person’s human rights being violated means everyone’s human rights can be violated at any time. We are all bound together with a common destiny, so no one is to be left behind.”
To date, Tai Ji Men dizi in 22 countries have written letters to President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen, the premier of Taiwan, and other high-ranking officials, and they have protested in many places, demanding the Taiwanese government to redress the unlawful auction of Tai Ji Men’s property, return justice to Tai Ji Men, and uphold human rights!
For more information about the Tai Ji Men case, please visit https://act1219.org/eng/
Source: Tai Ji Men
Protesters express their outrage over the Taiwan government’s human rights abuses in front of the enforcement agency in Miao-Li, Taiwan on August 21, 2020.
Over two thousand protesters condemn the Taiwanese government for abusing their human rights in front of the enforcement agency in Miao-Li, Taiwan on August 21, 2020.
Tai Ji Men dizi James and Vivian and their children hold a sign to denounce the Taiwan government’s human rights abuses against Tai Ji Men in front of the Washington Monument and in the Lincoln Memorial on August 16, 2020.
Tai Ji Men dizi couldn’t bear the Taiwanese government’s ongoing human rights abuses any more and seek help from the international community after 40 consecutive days of protests in Taiwan failed to get positive responses from the Taiwan government.
