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A visiting US-based Chinese human rights advocate on Sunday urged Taiwanese to better understand authoritarianism in China, after observing the outcome of Saturday’s recall elections against 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers.
Sophie Luo Shengchun (羅勝春), the wife of jailed Chinese human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi (丁家喜), said that witnessing the elections firsthand reminded her of how precious and resilient Taiwanese democracy is.
“If people do not understand China’s authoritarianism, they cannot truly appreciate Taiwan’s freedom,” she said, recounting her experience of being forced to flee China due to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of her husband.
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The CCP’s “suppression of free speech, arbitrary detention, torture and acts of genocide are serious threats that the democratic world should remain highly vigilant against,” she said, urging Taiwanese to gain a deeper understanding of the situation in China.
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Wester Yang (楊若暉), public affairs director of the overseas Chinese student group Assembly of Citizens, said Taiwan’s open environment shows how valuable freedom is.
“Even the air here feels fresh,” he said, adding that China’s influence operations in Taiwan is not fictional, but a “bloodless yet profound silent war.”
Yang called on Taiwanese to remain vigilant and to support global efforts for human rights and democratic transformation in China.