Hong Kong Free Press
Date: 8 June 2019
By: Benedict Rogers
For the second time in less than three months, Taiwan has hosted a conference on religious freedom, with President Tsai Ing-wen delivering a speech on the issue.
Last week President Tsai told the Taiwan International Religious Freedom Forum that
Tsai Ing-wen. Photo: Taiwan Gov’t.
“Taiwan’s religious freedom sets the standard in the Indo-Pacific” as she offered Taiwan’s support to those who are persecuted for their beliefs around the world.
But she also reminded us that Taiwan has not always been free. “Taiwan walked a dark path on the road to religious freedom,” she said. “The freedom we enjoy today is built on the blood, sweat and tears of our predecessors. So we in Taiwan know better than anyone how precious freedom is.”
This speech followed her address to a conference in March alongside U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom Sam Brownback. At the end of that conference, President Tsai appointed Taiwan’s first special ambassador for international religious freedom, Pusin Tali, and committed to donate US$1 million over five years to the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Fund.
These moves appear to be designed to bolster the positioning of Taiwan as a beacon of democracy and human rights in the region. Building on the work of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy established in 2003 by then president Chen Shui-bian, Tsai’s government appears keen to show the world the contrast between free, democratic Taiwan and the increasing repression in mainland China. [FULL STORY]
