Taiwan holds first Tiananmen commemoration in parliament
Lawmakers from Democratic Progressive Party and Kuomintang joined by human rights activists
Taiwan held its first commemoration in parliament of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on Friday as lawmakers urged the island’s new government to address human rights issues in its dealings with mainland China.
The suppression of human rights that happened to Chinese citizens could also threaten human rights in Taiwan
It comes weeks after mainland-sceptic Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in as president, succeeding Ma Ying-jeou who oversaw an unprecedented eight-year rapprochement with Beijing.
Ties have rapidly cooled since Tsai won the presidency in January, with Beijing distrustful of her independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
In the past, Taipei has repeatedly urged Beijing to learn lessons from the bloody Tiananmen crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. But parliamentarians had never before gathered to voice their views.
A day ahead of the June 4 anniversary, senior lawmakers from the DPP and the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) were joined by human rights activists and exiled Tiananmen student organiser Wuer Kaixi to observe a minute’s silence.
They also signed a motion proposed by DPP lawmaker Yu Mei-nu to demand the government “express Taiwan’s serious concerns over redressing the June 4 incident at the appropriate time” in their future interactions.