Taipei: 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, who is the wife of jailed Chinese rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi, said at a press event in Taipei that witnessing the elections firsthand reminded her of how precious and resilient Taiwan’s democratic system is.
According to Focus Taiwan, Luo emphasized the importance of understanding China’s authoritarianism to truly appreciate Taiwan’s freedom. She recounted her experience of being forced to flee China due to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of her husband. Luo made these 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.
Luo highlighted the CCP’s suppression of free speech, arbitrary detention, torture, and acts of genocide as serious threats that the democratic world should remain vigilant against. She urged people in Taiwan to gain a deeper understanding of the situation in China. The first wave of the recall campaign, targeting 24 lawmakers of the main opposition KMT and suspended Hsinchu Mayor Kao Hung-an, 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 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 drew international condemnation at the time, being seen as a severe crackdown on China’s civil society.
Echoing Luo, Wester Yang, public affairs director of the overseas Chinese student group Assembly of Citizens, said Taiwan’s open environment revealed how valuable freedom is. “Even the air here feels fresh,” he noted, adding that China’s influence operations in Taiwan are 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.