Taiwan’s treatment of Tai Ji Men opens it to criticism by hostile countries. It is in its best interest to solve the Tai Ji Men case.
by Christine Mirre*
*A paper presented at the international webinar “A Safe Environment for Tai Ji Men,” co-organized by CESNUR and Human Rights Without Frontiers on June 5, 2023, World Environment Day.
Last April, I was part of a delegation of experts invited to Taiwan for an International Forum on Peace and Human Rights.
During this visit, I met with members of the Legislative Yuan, the Control Yuan and the National Human Rights Committee, mainstream media, Taiwanese human rights NGOs, and various members of religious groups. I had the opportunity to visit places relevant to Taiwanese history such as the Human Rights Museum and the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park.
I was very impressed by the welcome, kindness, and courtesy of all the Taiwanese I met.
My work with CAP-LC and its close collaboration with the UN gives me a comprehensive knowledge of human rights in UN member countries.
I must say that I was very impressed by Taiwan’s respect for human rights. Indeed, compared to France, for example, which is known as the mother of human rights, Taiwan, as a young democracy, has made great strides in this field and has nothing to envy Western democracies for.
From my point of view, Taiwan can be considered as one of the very few countries on the Asian continent demonstrating that respect for human rights in a democratic political system is beneficial to, and fully compatible with, Asian traditions and culture. It thus refutes the arguments put up by China, contesting the universality of human rights and proposing “Eastern Human Rights” in opposition to what it calls “Western Human Rights.”
Taiwan has this unique institution called the Control Yuan, whose function is to control and, if necessary, censure and impeach government officials.
Another remarkable achievement is Taiwan’s recognition as the world’s second most religiously diverse country.
All practitioners of this diversity of religions, spiritualities, and beliefs can worship freely. Taiwan provides them a safe environment, guaranteed by the Article 13 of the Constitution: “The people shall have freedom of religious belief.”
However, China’s acts of hostility towards Taiwan are not limited to threats and demonstrations of military force. I would like to quote Zsuzsa-Anna Ferenczy, Human Rights Without Frontiers’ correspondent in Taiwan, which explains that, “The Chinese state has also targeted civil society, including faith communities, with Taiwanese leaders and faith communities becoming the main targets of China’s influence campaigns for political ends. External influence attempts remain an important tool for Beijing to seek to shape the public sentiment in Taiwan on China, to influence the political thinking and debate across the island. This has included the spread of disinformation, or information manipulation in order to undermine the government and the trust of the people in their government and to interfere in any way possible that serves their interest. This has affected cultural and religious affairs and continues to do so to this day.”
The emblematic case of Tai Ji Men, which constitutes a violation of human rights that has been identified as such by numerous experts, represents a weakness that can be easily exploited by China.
Today is World Environment Day, and as Massimo Introvigne said in his introduction to this webinar, Tai Ji Men’s Shifu (Grand Master) Dr. Hong Tao-Tze wisely teaches that the physical pollution of our environment can only be eliminated once the moral pollution has also dissipated.
In the case of the Tai Ji Men, there is a toxic agent largely responsible for the moral pollution they suffered, in the person of Prosecutor Hou Kuan-Jen. Introvigne, in an article published in “Bitter Winter” on March 31, 2021, “The Strange Case of Prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen,” explained that although “the highest auditory agency in Taiwan, the Control Yuan, found him guilty of multiple violations of law in the Tai Ji Men case, yet, he has never been sanctioned (…) . Hou was actually promoted to deputy director-general of the Agency Against Corruption.”
More recently, it was reported in the media, he is actively promoting the National Institute of Judicial Science and may even become its director.
As Introvigne stated in that article, “A long tennis game involved the Control Yuan, the Ministry of Justice, and the Taiwan’s High Prosecutors Office, with the ball continuously bouncing from one side to the other. To make the activity of the Control Yuan effective, its findings about the illegal activities of government officials should be followed by swift sanctions. If the results of the investigations by the Control Yuan are re-investigated by the governmental agencies it had criticized, a vicious cycle is created. This is like if, in an investigation into an organized crime of fraud in sports gambling and betting, the authority asked the perpetrators to investigate the case by themselves to determine if they committed fraud. This would be simply pointless, and the function of the Control Yuan would be reduced to a simulacrum.”
This shows us how toxic agents can spread and contaminate the whole water by corrupting an institution that is unique in the world, the Control Yuan, which should be dedicated to the protection of human rights.
The injustice suffered by the Tai Ji Men is very damaging for Taiwan, as they represent a precious resource and an asset for spreading Taiwan’s values internationally. I would quote the current President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-Wen: “Tai Ji Men has actively participated in international events, conducted citizen diplomacy, and raised Taiwan’s global visibility. In the future, I also hope that Tai Ji Men, under Dr Hong’s leadership, will continue to work with government. Let us use our positive influence and move Taiwan forward with continued progress. Let the world see Taiwan.”
The Tai Ji Men dizi (disciples) are ambassadors for Taiwan, and the guardians of traditional Chinese culture and ancestral Chinese values, with over 3,000 events and performances in more than 100 countries.
They also make a major contribution to Taiwan’s reputation in the sporting arena. Some dizi are top Taiwanese athletes, winning prestigious awards and medals. For instance, in 2001, Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy was first in the Martial Arts and Kung Fu Group Demonstration and earned the World Top Outstanding Performance Golden Award at the 8th World Cup International Martial Arts Championship. And a few months ago, a young dizi won the bronze medal for the Suzuki World Cup 2023 of gymnastic in Japan.
As we celebrate Environment Day, I would mention some events in favor of the environment initiated by Tai Ji Men or in which they actively contributed.
Since 2000, Tai Ji Men through their organizations attended Earth Summits to promote the Sustainable Development Goals and worked with various UN Permanent Missions. They have held over sixty seminars and webinars and visited more than one hundred countries to advocate sustainability.
At the 2016 World Summit of Love and Peace, attended by NGO delegates from forty nations, Dr. Hong received the “World Citizens Award for Sustainable Development” in recognition of his outstanding contributions. And last year, in June, Tai Ji Men Shifu and dizi co-organized several events at the Stockholm+50 meeting, gathering influential leaders including chiefs of UN Environment Programs and Environment Ministers.
They have also published a booklet entitled “Conscience-Driven Solutions for a Healthy Planet,” reminding the world that, “The health of world citizens’ inner environment is essential for the Earth’s sustainability, with conscience being the key.”
In view of all their amazing achievements, it is more than important to allow Tai Ji Men to benefit from a safe environment. The injustice and harassment to which they have been subjected for more than twenty-six years parasite their energy and resources, which could otherwise be entirely devoted to their actions in favor of the development of human consciousness for a better world.
In my opinion, it is the duty and responsibility of the Taiwanese government to protect its civil society, and Tai Ji Men in particular, by guaranteeing them a safe environment.
This requires Taiwan to safeguard its institutions and citizens from corruption, to protect its democratic values and its vision of human rights.
There is no longer any need to prove that Tai Ji Men are Taiwan’s best ambassadors internationally, and that by promoting conscience they are also perfectly qualified to change people’s consciences, because as the philosopher Hannah Arendt pointed out, “the wind of thought can prevent disasters.”
More than anyone else, Tai Ji Men deserve a safe environment. They deserve to have their honor restored and the injustices they have suffered recognized as injustices and redressed.
It is for all these reasons that Taiwan, in its own interests, should care to provide a safe environment for Tai Ji Men, so that they can devote themselves entirely to spread their message of peace.
I would like to conclude with one of these messages of peace, in the inspiring words of Dr. Hong: “I hope the energy of love and peace that we have gathered can spread around the world to awaken people’s conscience, inspire more good deeds, and make the beautiful vision of world peace come true.”
Source: Bitter Winter