“国际民主复兴联盟”声明: 我们与台湾在一起
《议报》记者 何佳
2020年10月24日
“国际民主复兴联盟“ 在第24届“论坛2000”（Forum 2000）的年会上通过支持民主台湾的声明“我们与台湾在一起”。声明说“经过几十年的努力，台湾已成为亚洲民主的塔，民主和民主价值观已成为台湾人民身份的一部分。台湾的未来应该由2300万台湾公民决定，而不是由海峡对岸的独裁政权决定。民主的支持者必须坚团结起来，坚决地反对企图侵犯台湾人民自由和民主的任何团体或政府。”作为联盟的创始成员，公民力量创始人杨建利博士参与了这份声明最早推动。
国际民主复兴联盟是一个由世界范围内的知识分子、人权活动家和政治家组成的全球联盟，关注专制政权权力和影响的扩大以及民主制度从内部被削弱的问题。该组织的目的是重申民主的基本原则，揭露专制主义，并声援在世界各地不民主制度下为自由而战的勇敢的人们。
论坛2000是捷克前总统哈维尔在1997年创办的国际论坛，致力于捍卫民主价值，人权，宗教、文化和民族的宽容，为全球的思想家、活动家、政治家就相关的议题提供论坛。杨建利博士是该论坛的执行委员。
鉴于中共最近对台湾频繁的军事威胁，国际民主复兴联盟认为有必要向北京还有国际社会发出明确的坚决捍卫民主台湾的声音，同时敦促美国等民主国家政府采取同样的立场。这份支持台湾的声明已有数百名知识分子、人权活动家和政治家签名。
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“国际民主复兴联盟”声明：我们与台湾在一起 （中文翻译稿：Anna Yunpeng Chen）
我们谨以此签名，声援民主台湾，敦促亚太地区和世界各地的民主政府保护台湾民主政體不受北京的侵略威胁。我们同时呼吁各地支持民主的民间社会团体共同反对北京的这一威胁。
论坛2000
2020年10月14日 布拉格
在去年的年初的讲话中，中国共产党总书记习近平重申了他吞并台湾的决心，并明确拒绝排除使用武力来实现这一目标的可能性。习近平宣称:“我们不承诺放弃使用武力,并保留采取所有必要措施的选择权”。最近几周，中国加大了对台湾的威脅行动、信息战、宣传和军事挑釁。今年前9个月，中国在跨越台湾海峡两岸中線进行的军事演习数量超过了1990年以来的任何一年的總和。
台湾从来就没有处在中华人民共和国的统治之下。1987年台湾政府结束长达38年的戒严令之後，台湾经历了民主化。现在的台湾是世界上最民主的国家之一。按照“自由之家”的評議，台湾是“新兴民主国家中持续改善其自由制度、挑戰全球滑向民粹主义、非自由主义和独裁的趋势的一員”。
然而，在过去十年中，中华人民共和国的独裁政府却朝着相反的方向前进。在国内，它迫害批评人士、人权律师和任何对共产党或其领导人进行批评的人。它正在建设一个奥威尔式的监视国家，并加大了对少数民族的镇压运动，试图抹去维吾尔族、藏族人和其他种族的文化和信仰传统。超过100万维族人被关押在集中营，自2017年以来，估计有8500座清真寺被夷为平地。今年早些时候，中华人民共和国非法废除了保证香港人民自治和自治至少半个世纪的“一国两制”协议。此后，立法会选举被推迟，香港当局加大了对政治反对派、媒体和公民社会的抓捕和恐吓。香港最近实施新的国家安全法，进一步显示香港的自由和民主正在遭受日益严重的侵犯。
在海外，中华人民共和国用它的经济实力作为武器，扩张军備，加大其在南中国海的领土主张，并增大了对台湾的压力。它无视以规则为基础的国际秩序，以推进自己的侵略立场和国家利益。随着台湾进一步巩固民主，北京方面加强了地缘政治、军事威脅的好战行動。除此之外，北京方面还针对台湾媒体和数字空间开展了一些具有攻击性的虚假信息和宣传活动，以操纵台湾国内政治，在台湾社会中播下分裂和不信任的情绪。
经过几十年的努力，台湾已成为亚洲民主的塔，民主和民主价值观已成为台湾人民身份的一部分。台湾的未来应该由2300万台湾公民决定，而不是由海峡对岸的独裁政权决定。民主的支持者必须坚团结起来，坚决地反对企图侵犯台湾人民自由和民主的任何团体或政府。
民主是关系到全球的事业，而不单是某个国家的事情。对一个民主国家的威胁就是对所有民主国家的威胁。台湾人民已经拥抱了民主，他们应该得到各國民主政府和热爱自由的人民的支持和声援。
2. 英文原稿
International Coalition for Democratic Renewal
We Stand in Solidarity with Taiwan
We the undersigned stand in solidarity with democratic Taiwan and urge democratic governments—in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world—to defend Taiwan’s democratic government against Beijing’s threats of aggression. We also call upon pro-democratic civil society groups everywhere to oppose this threat.
Adopted at Forum 2000, Oct.14, 2020, Prague
In a speech last year, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping affirmed his determination to annex Taiwan and pointedly refused to rule out the use of force to achieve this objective. “We make no promise to abandon the use of force, and retain the option of taking all necessary measures,” Mr. Xi declared. In recent weeks, China has stepped up its influence operations, information warfare, propaganda and military threats against Taiwan. China has conducted more military exercises across the Taiwan Strait median line in the first nine months of this year than in any full year since 1990.
Taiwan has never been under the governance of the People’s Republic of China. Its government ended the 38 years of Martial Law in 1987. Taiwan then underwent democratization and is now among the most democratic countries in the world. According to Freedom House, Taiwan stands in a “select group of new democracies which have continued to improve their free institutions and challenge the global slide towards populism, illiberalism, and autocracy.”
During the past decade, however, the People’s Republic of China’s authoritarian government has moved in the opposite direction. At home, it has persecuted critics, human rights lawyers and anyone critical of the Communist Party or its leaders. It is constructing an Orwellian surveillance state, and it has stepped up repressive campaigns against ethnic groups in an attempt to erase the culture and faith traditions of Uyghurs, Tibetans, and others. More than one million Uyghurs have been incarcerated in concentration camps, and an estimated 8,500 mosques have been razed since 2017. Earlier this year, the PRC unlawfully nullified the “one country, two systems” agreement that guaranteed the people of Hong Kong autonomy and self-government for at least half a century. Since then, legislative elections were postponed, and the Hong Kong authority escalated arrests and intimidation on political opposition, the media, and civil society. The recent imposition of new national security legislation in Hong Kong further exemplifies the intensifying encroachment on freedom and democracy in Hong Kong.
Abroad, the PRC weaponized its economic power, flexed its military arms and extended its claims in the South China Sea, and it has stepped up its pressure on Taiwan. It has ignored the rule-based international order to further its own aggressive stance and national interests. As Taiwan further consolidated its democracy, Beijing intensified geopolitical and military acts of intimidation and belligerence. Beyond this, Beijing has also engaged in aggressive disinformation and propaganda campaigns targeting Taiwanese media and digital spaces in an effort to manipulate Taiwan’s domestic politics and sow division and distrust in Taiwanese society.
Through decades of hard work, Taiwan became a beacon of democracy in Asia, and democracy and democratic values have become part of the identity of the Taiwanese people. The future of Taiwan should be decided by the 23 million citizens of Taiwan, not the authoritarian régime across the Taiwan Strait. Supporters of democracy must stand resolute and united against any group or government that seeks to infringe on the freedom and democracy of the Taiwanese people.
The cause of democracy is global, not national. A threat to one democracy is a threat to all democracies. The people of Taiwan have embraced democracy, and they deserve the support and solidarity of democratic governments and freedom-loving people everywhere.
