[News] Wild Strawberries interviewed by KPFT Human Right Show

The Wild Strawberry were interviewed by Houston's FM 90.1, KPFT, the Pacific Network, during the Human Rights Show sponsored by the Amnesty International. Please go to the following web site to listen to the interview:
http://archive.kpft.org/mp3/090116_190000hr.MP3

http://archive.kpft.org/
In the row "The Human Rights Show" for "Friday January 16, 2009 7:00 pm

[Report] Freedom House report released in Taipei

Freedom House released its Freedom in the World 2009 report with a press conference at the Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in Taipei today. The event was hosted by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. The 2009 report found a decline in global freedom for the third consecutive year. Sub-Saharan Africa and the former Soviet states were the regions that saw the greatest decline. There was some improvement in freedom in South Asia.

David reported those issues related to Taiwan on the Freedom House 2009 in the World Survey Release.

Michael Hsiao said the student movement in Taiwan started in the 1980s with a focus on campus freedom. It peaked in 1990 when students paid attention to outside the campus walls. In the 1990s the student movement dropped but then in the early part of this decade it came up again with attention on human rights and social concerns. Chen Yunlin’s visit made students learn that there was something wrong and they learnt about democracy. In 2008 people realised democracy could disappear. Hsiao said that he liked the Wild Strawberries but thinks they should call themselves “Wild Passion Fruit” because passion fruit are very tough on the outside and can’t be crushed like strawberries.

For the whole report, please go to [David on Formosa] Freedom House report released in Taipei

Taipei District Prosecutors Humiliate the Accused of Their Ongoing Investigations

I posted about this mocking insult that Taipei prosecutors executed on the accused of their ongoing investigations. Or, if you have just 3 minutes of spare time, watch the video below.

Be warned: I am not responsible for any health problem as a result of watching/reading it. Proceed at your own risk.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afpm1EIgEfQ

[Important] San Diego channel 6 TV reports the WSM

[BerrySeed] Journal Forum Group of WS

We would like to share some good news with everyone that Taipei Wild Strawberries has officially launched a Journal Forum Group which will be responsible for publishing e-news and composing editorials to the print media.

A1 Yoshi will serve as our founding Editor-in-Chief, responsible for day-to-day operations and in charge of eleven staff members. Littlegrass and Rousseau, both senior editors, will each lead a team to regularly compose letters to print media and monitor news media.

Some of you may have noticed that two op-ed articles by BerrySeed in the 1231 and 0103 issues were also published in Section A15 of The Liberty Times, marking a milestone for our group. We expect to contribute at least one such article each week to print media. (Please note that BerrySeed is the official pen name of the Taipei Wild Strawberries Journal Forum Group.)

With regard to the monthly e-news publication, the tentative launch date is set for the beginning of February. Considering the primary target audience is current and past movement participants as well as supporters, the content will include (but not limited to) editorials, behind-the-scenes tidbits, Strawberries activity reports, upcoming event calendars, and readers' corner, etc.

The core message of our first issue is tentatively "Reflection of the Past, Contemplation of the Future." Going forward, the Journal Forum Group will work in close collaboration with other groups to provide PR and editorial assistance. Moreover, the group plans to build a website with archived issues when appropriate. The Wild Strawberries Movement sincerely hopes to continue the battle for human rights with a pen as its mighty weapon and knowledge as power.

Please do not hesitate to direct any questions to BerrySeed or reply to this article. We will also be seeking freelance writers and will provide details at a later date.


BerrySeed

WSM participating Freedom House event in Taiwan

Freedom House will be presenting Freedom in the World 2009, the organization's annual survey of political rights and civil liberties worldwide to determine each country's freedom status--- either Free, Partly free or Not Free.

Since Taiwan's inclusion of the survey in 1972, this is the first time Taiwan have been chosen as the venue for publication. WS's international students division got in touch with Freedom House which lead to the acceptance of 3 hosts from WS to be seated in the media zone, four more students are able to participate in the group section.

Broadcasting group students will be doing live broadcasting online on the day. Because of the small number of participants are involved, please tune in to the internet live channel for the latest developement. The broadcasting will start at 9am. For more information on the Freedom House, please search online or query at WS's BBS forum. ptt2.cc action1106 board

[Important] Freedom House Press Conference in Taipei

Dear all,

Freedom House press conference in Taipei, Taiwan on 1/13 will be live broadcasted by WS anchors, starting from 9AM.If you want to watch Freedom House live show at 9:00AM on 1/13, please go tohttp://zh-tw.justin.tv/action1106 !

Another thing,Please vote for WS's live webcast of Freedom House press conference on 1/13 at: http://openzap.com/show/twitter.com/cyrixhero

Cyrix
http://twitter.com/cyrixhero

Opening Ceremony of WildBerry House (野苺之家)

Wild Strawberries Movement is turning into a new stage which students are attempting to be an organization. Meanwhile, the sit-in action has temporarily ceased since 4th Jan.
"WildBerry House" is going to be the root for strawberries spreading our beliefs and ideas at the campuses and through the country.
The Opening ceremony was held on the morning 11st Jan. NGOs and scholars were invited to witness this milestone of our movement!

The address of WildBerry House:
No.9, Alley 7, Lane28, Tung-An St. Zhung-Zheng District, Taipei City
(台北市中正區同安街28巷7弄9號)

You are welcome to visit anytime you wish!

[Taipei Times] Taiwan' s Dreyfus Affair

(Read the Full Text)
I have seen messages on pro-Taiwan discussion boards calling for things like revolution, civil war, and so on, but as an Irishman (whose country has gone through all this before), I don’t agree.

I do believe that the Taiwanese can start their rebellion against the KMT dictatorship with a peaceful Gandhi-style campaign. The campaign would include extremely noisy protests and demonstrations, strikes (especially in companies owned by the KMT or pro-KMT business-folks), boycotts (like postal workers refusing to handle mail directed to the government or KMT offices, dock workers refusing to handle ships coming from or bound for China), blockades, occupations, refusals to pay taxes or fines and many more acts of civil disobedience. The list is endless.

I know that in Taiwan there is not the same militant and rebellious mentality as, say, in Greece, but for the sake of Taiwan’s future, all Taiwanese who care one iota about their country’s future had better learn from the Wild Strawberries, and fairly quickly.

ALAN MULCANY

Swords, County Dublin, Ireland

2008~New Year 2009 Activities for Human Rights by WS

(1)New Year Countdown Party
Location: Liberty Square
Time: 20:00 Dec. 31st 2008
Music Concerts, Media Show Review 2008, Prospect of 2009

(2)Human Right Flag-raising Assembly
Gathering Time: 5 a.m. Jan. 1st 2009 AT Liberty Square
Walking to Ketagalan Blvd.
When the flag sets up, wear the mask of Chen Yun-lin.
When the ceremony blesses ROC, raise the slogan of Human Rights.
Please be quiet through out the whole process.

(3)Human Rights Jogging
Gathering and registration spot AT Ren-ai Rd.(仁愛路出口) entrance, Sun Yat-Sun Memorial Hall
Gathering Time: Jan. 1st 2009 7a.m.
Start to run AT 8:00 a.m.

[Taipei Times] Police not above the law

Over the past few months I have witnessed a number of incidents in which police have acted inappropriately toward peaceful protesters. Some of these incidents occurred during the time of Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin’s (陳雲林) visit to Taiwan, but there have been others, both before and after.
In all these cases, people were protesting peacefully. They merely wanted to express their opinions and be heard by the government. They were acting in a reasonable manner and had no intention of causing unnecessary disturbance to the general public.(Full Text)

1224 Wild Strawberry Press Conference Announcement

This week the Wild Strawberry Movement entered its seventh week.

The response from the government has been distinguished largely by being both scant and negative. The only response has been in regard to the Assembly and Parade Law, discussed from mid-November by the government, with draft revisions made public by the Executive Yuan on Dec. 4th.

However, when we took a closer look at the Executive Yuan version, we found that the Executive Yuan had completely ignored the 4 major demands of the Wild Strawberry Movement. The requirement that the government approve all political demonstrations, which we had asked be changed to a simply notification process, remains a compulsory
notification process, little different in practice from asking for government permission. The wording of the law regarding limitations on the location of public protests and assemblies was changed, but the law remains the same, in fact becoming even more restrictive, with the an increase in the size of the area that can be restricted from public access for protests and assemblies. Nor was the police power to dismiss assemblies revoked. Although the Special Penalty for illegal assembly was abolished, the duration of the punishment was in fact lengthened. This has had a chilling effect on the public's right to assemble.

The new Assembly and Parade Law means only a change of names, not substance, and in fact places even stricter limits on the public's right to speak freely. These changes were certainly not desired or supported by the Wild Strawberries. Once again, we wish to re-emphasize our 4 demands for modifications to the Assembly and
Parade Law: (1)change the application for a parade permit to a notification system; (2) curb the arbitrary authority of the police to arrest demontrators and dismiss protests; (3) change the law so that violations are treated as administrative violations requiring fines, rather than criminal acts carrying jail sentences; and (4) lift restrictions on places where assemblies and parades can be held. The
Wild Strawberries refuse to sanction the government's modifications to the Assembly and Parade Law, which suppress the right of the people to speak and act freely. We hope that in future discussions of the Assembly and Parade Law, the government will support the version drafted by Legislator Chu Feng-chih (朱鳳芝).

[Red Caution] A documentary regards to Chen, Yun-lin's visiting and the drawback in Taiwan

2008.12.27(Saturday) 7：00p.m. at Liberty Square
The first presentation of the documentary "Red Caution" with the forum on "Taiwan Crisis。Mobilize All the People"

This documentary is made by local associations in Taiwan. In order to review the violation of the nation during the China envoy, Chen's visiting on November 2008.

Preview (8mins clip): (The team has the subtitle in English and Japanese, but not on this clip so far.)

The broadcast platform

Since 17:30 19th December, the previous account for broadcasting had been announced to violate the Service Condition that we were disqualified to use it now. We are still questing the exact reason.

For keeping the broadcasting, we registered for a new account: http://www.justin.tv/anchor1106
If there is any problem while watching, please write to 1106action@gmail.com

[Taiwan News] Reporters Without Borders condemns Taiwan president’s failure to respect press independence

(Taiwan News) – Reporters Without Borders, an organization aims to safeguard press freedom and promote human rights, issued a statement on Dec. 17 with a topic of “Public media threatened, despite government denials” to voice concerns for the suppression of Taiwan media workers’ freedom of speech by the government, condemning President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) failure to respect press independence. (more)

[Taipei Times] EDITORIAL: Hollow promises of media freedom

Reporters Without Borders, an NGO devoted to press freedom, issued a statement on Wednesday saying that despite recent assurances to the contrary from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), it was concerned that media independence in Taiwan remains under threat from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.

The statement highlighted KMT attempts to control the programming of Public Television Service (PTS). The party’s legislators have proposed that PTS would require item-by-item approval from the Government Information Office (GIO) for all budget matters.

The KMT’s “campaign to reaffirm its influence over the public TV stations seems to have strengthened,” the statement read, before urging the president “to set up mechanisms that guarantee media independence.” (more)

[Taipei Times] Watchdog still concerned about media interference

Despite President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) denial in a letter to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the international press freedom watchdog is concerned that the independence of the nation’s media is threatened and has urged the Ma government to refrain from manipulating the media.

“Taiwan should be a press freedom model in Asia and the independence of the public media is one of the key components of a free and diverse press system,” the group said in a statement released on Wednesday. “We want to believe in President Ma’s promises, but they must be translated into action.” (more)

[Taipei Times] INTERVIEW: Taiwan must fight to keep democracy: ex-UN official

INTERVIEW: Taiwan must fight to keep democracy: ex-UN official

COUNTING BLESSINGS: Youth must learn to appreciate the freedoms they enjoy today, especially compared with the Chinese, ex-UN human rights official Nisuke Ando said
By Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Dec 19, 2008, Page 3

Former UN Human Rights Commission chairman Nisuke Ando praised Taiwan as a model of democracy for China and said the public must pressure the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration not to return the country to the totalitarian system of the White Terror period.

Ando was among several international human rights advocates to speak at the International Human Rights Conference in Kaohsiung on Wednesday last week, the 60th anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (more)

[20 mins Video Clip on 1211 Incident] When WS and Tibetans were forced away

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It has been a week since it happened at the cold and dark night. What have the society paid for it? What will people comment on this history? There is no translation for the sounds, but the process is clearly presented. The night is never silent. How about us? 1211 incident is how I name this issue in order to memorize the brutality and tragedy of human society and our greediness. If we remove the mask of greediness, it should a smiling face with friendly embrace to the world, to human rights, isn't it?

[Rationale] Regarding the theft incident on 13 December at Liberty Square

At about 9 am on 13 December, a student surnamed Lai found their notebook computer was missing. Workers of the Wild Strawberry Movement, after obtaining the agreement of everyone present, began to check through the personal belongings at the site. They then found the student Lai's computer under the jacket of a man claiming to be a student from Fu Jen University's Chinese Department.

Because of the principle of presumption of innocence, students of the Wild Strawberry Movement first asked the man to explain why he had student Lai's computer. However, his words stuttered and he was unable to give a reasonable explanation. Therefore at approximately 9:30 am on the same day, the students of the Wild Strawberry Movement sought the assistance of a police officer
at the site. They reported the incident to the police. When the police checked the man's ID it was discovered that the information he had given to the Wild Strawberry Movement was false. Furthermore, he was not a student in Fu Jen University's Chinese Department.

In regard to this matter that arose, we habitually used a "rational, peaceful and nonviolent" action in accordance the movement's demands and central principle. Furthermore we refuse to make any wild accusations of guilt without proper examination. However, this matter has been reported in some sections of the media using a "Wild Strawberries violence, attempt to conceal quarrel"
form of description. In addition no students at the site or people who were present during the incident have been interviewed by the media. Therefore this one sided and incorrect information has made the students who were present feel disturbed and upset. We feel regret about this and feel very dissatisfied about the media reporting the Wild Strawberries' upholding the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" as a cover up.

Presently this matter is being investigated by the judicial system. Those present during the incident will make no further comment on this matter.