[The Epoch Times, June 4, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Zhong Yuan reported in Taipei) To commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the June 4th Incident, President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China said in a speech that the collective memory of the June 4th Incident is being systematically suppressed in Hong Kong. ‘s erasure. Such outrageous tactics cannot erase people’s memory, and when democracy is threatened and world authoritarianism is expanding, it is even more necessary to uphold democratic values.
Tsai Ing-wen posted on Facebook on June 4 that the Tiananmen Square Incident occurred 33 years ago today. And Hong Kong, which has been commemorating June 4th with candlelight evenings for many years, this year, for the first time, there were no applications for gatherings to commemorate June 4th at all. Statues about democracy and the June 4th spirit have also been removed inexplicably in many universities in Hong Kong. The collective memory of June 4 is being systematically erased in Hong Kong.
“But we believe that such tyrannical methods cannot erase people’s memory.” She pointed out, “When democracy is threatened and authoritarianism is expanding in the world, we need to uphold democratic values and share the ideals of democracy and freedom. International partners firmly support each other.”
She said that on June 4 last year, the 1.24 million doses of AZ vaccine donated by Japan to Taiwan arrived in Taiwan. The profound friendship between Taiwan and Japan has moved everyone very much, and it is also a concrete demonstration of the democratic government working together to prevent the epidemic. During the epidemic, “We, the United States, Japan, and many European countries have jointly fought against the epidemic by donating important anti-epidemic materials to each other. This is because people who love freedom should support each other.”
She said that in a democratic country, “we should cherish the strong democracy built by free speech, but we should also exercise the right to freedom of speech carefully.” Especially during the epidemic, misinformation will not only cause panic, but also It will increase the burden on medical staff. If you receive suspicious information, help clarify it and do not repost it, which can be more helpful for epidemic prevention.
Tsai Ing-wen said that different government systems have different governance strategies and response methods in the face of epidemic prevention, which may also have quite different impacts on the development of the epidemic. This is also an important topic of discussion and research internationally.
“Taiwan is a democratic society. Because of various opinions, the cost of communication is sometimes higher,” she said. “But it is precisely because of the openness and transparency of information in a democratic society that all citizens have the opportunity to obtain information. Brainstorm not only the problem but also the solution.”
She said that with the efforts of the whole people, Taiwan’s epidemic prevention work in the past two years has also been recognized internationally. An open and transparent democratic supervision mechanism is a very important key. On the contrary, authoritarian countries blindly block the truth and suppress discussions, which not only obliterates democratic values, but is more likely to worsen and intensify the epidemic due to the lack of information flow.
Tsai Ing-wen said that she believes that despite the diversity of opinions in a democratic society, open and transparent information, as well as sincere efforts to actively communicate and persuade each other, “will eventually bring us together to overcome many important challenges in the epidemic.”
The President of the Republic of China, Su Zhenchang, posted on Facebook that today is June 4th, but it is May 35th in China. In China, June 4 is still a shameful memory that those in power want to cover up. But he believes that history can be temporarily covered up, but the flame of fighting for democracy will not be extinguished. Although power can silence some people for a while, it cannot keep everyone silent forever. Under the wash of time, lies It will be sifted away, and the truth will emerge.
Su Zhenchang said that in the past two years, the people of Taiwan have set the best example for the world. Compared with the CCP, Taiwan has proved that with a democratic and free system and an active civil society, it is still possible to constantly argue and seek consensus among different opinions. Do your best to prevent the epidemic, but also take care of the economy.
He said that today is also the second day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. The seven large-scale children’s vaccination stations in Liudu have served more than 20,000 children in the past three days, even during the holiday. Due to the concerted efforts of the central and local medical and health units and the review at any time, the children’s vaccination stations are now moving smoothly and have comfortable spaces, effectively reducing the flow of people in local clinics. Now is the last battle to move towards a normal life. Please get fully vaccinated and continue to work hard to prevent the epidemic together.
Responsible editor: Ye Ziwei