Taiwanese urged to better understand China's authoritarianism

Taipei, July 27 (CNA) A visiting U.S.-based Chinese human rights advocate called on Taiwanese people on Sunday to gain a better understanding of China's true face, after observing votes held around Taiwan on whether or not to recall 24 Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers.

Sophie Shengchun Luo (羅勝春), who is the wife of jailed Chinese rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi (丁家喜), said at a press event in Taipei that witnessing the elections firsthand reminded her of how precious and resilient Taiwan's democratic system is.

"If people don't understand China's authoritarianism, they cannot truly appreciate Taiwan's freedom," she said, recounting her experience of being forced to flee China for another country due to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of her husband.

Luo made the remarks during a post-election press conference hosted by the Taipei-based civil organization, New School for Democracy, which invited several overseas Chinese human rights and democracy advocates to Taiwan to watch Saturday's recall votes.

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 and urged people in Taiwan to gain a deeper understanding of the situation in China.

The first wave of the recall campaign, which targeted 24 lawmakers of the main opposition KMT and suspended Hsinchu Mayor Kao Hung-an (高虹安), ended in total failure on Saturday, with none of the recall motions succeeding.

A second round of seven recall votes, also targeting KMT lawmakers, and a referendum on restarting a nuclear power plant is scheduled for Aug. 23.

At Sunday's press event, Luo also recalled how her husband and fellow activist Xu Zhiyong (許志永) were sentenced in 2023 to 12 and 14 years in prison, respectively, for subversion of state power after holding a private meeting on China's political future.

The case, seen as a severe crackdown on China's civil society, drew international condemnation at the time.

Echoing Luo, Wester Yang (楊若暉), public affairs director of the overseas Chinese student group Assembly of Citizens, said Taiwan's open environment revealed how valuable freedom truly 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 the Taiwanese public to remain vigilant and to support global efforts for human rights and democratic transformation in China.