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Published on April 15, 2008

Though Joan Chen is a US citizen, she still considers China as her motherland and shows no qualms about coming out in its defence no matter what's wrong with the land she left long ago to seek better opportunities in a free country like the United States.

Chen says that the Chinese are a proud people who want freedom and greater rights, that they know they must fight for them from within, and that they know that no one can grant them freedom and rights from afar. This is a half-truth.

Chen became a US citizen in 1989, the year when the Tiananmen Square massacre happened, tanks rolled in Beijing and many Chinese who sought more freedom and rights were killed. Those who have dared to speak out since then have either been banished or put in jail. The latest example is Hu Jia, who has continuously conducted a fearless campaign against Beijing's abuse of human rights and was finally jailed a few days ago.

Yes, the Olympics are meant to be a bridge for friendship, not a playground for politics, as Chen mentions. However, China has always mixed everything with politics. Take Taiwan's membership in the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an example.

Because of China's obstruction since 1972, Taiwan is not yet a member of the WHO, the constitution of which states, "The enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition".

Adding insult to injury, the UN, due to pressure from China, has for the last four years barred Taiwanese journalists and Taiwanese news media from conducting on-the-spot coverage of the activities of UN-system organisations, including those of the WHO, on the grounds that Taiwan is not a state recognised by the UN General Assembly. Thus Taiwan's media representatives will once again be prohibited from covering this year's meeting of the World Health Assembly, which will be held in Geneva from May 19th to May 24th.

The world has already given China a chance to hold the Olympics. Is China willing to return the favour by granting more freedom and rights to their people? Are the leaders in Beijing ready to put politics aside when talking about other countries' basic needs and rights?

David Tzou

Bangkok

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Migrant workers' deaths part of a larger problem

I welcome the Department of Special Investigation's (DSI) entry into the sad case of the 54 illegal Burmese immigrants who suffocated in a lorry. The DSI will help track down the influential people behind the illegal human trafficking - which may well involve high-ranking police. Those responsible for the deaths must be brought to justice - especially the masterminds.

But stopping there would be tantamount to putting a Band-Aid on a cancer. Our fisheries, construction, agriculture, and household services industries depend heavily on foreign labour. The International Labour Organisation and several NGOs have rightfully raised concerns about our expensive, slow registration system which refuses to let workers change employers, even if they suffer abuse.

We should conduct surveys to find out our foreign labour needs and legally recruit, hire and import them, as well as give them the same legal rights and obligations that Thais on work permits in, say, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, or the US enjoy. In other words, treat the Burmese the same as their Thai counterparts - for how can we, in good conscience, demand less for them than we demand for Thais working overseas?

In short, apply the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

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