Taipei, July 14 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian vowed Wednesday to develop Taiwan into a country where human rights are fully protected.
Speaking at a concert held to mark the presentation of "reputation-restoring" certificates to former political prisoners, the president said the country suffered the world's longest martial law rule from May 20, 1949 to July 15, 1987, under which human rights were seriously trampled.
In addition to the fact that many aspects of life were controlled tightly by the government at the time, people's freedoms were limited, and some were denied without the due process of law. Many were wrongly executed or put into jails as spies of the Chinese Communist Party or declared to be traitors in summary trials.
In order to reinstate the reputation of these political detainees, the government began from 1998 to offer cash compensation to them and worked to restore their reputations. A total of 7,431 applications have been received since then, and 6,964 cases have already been processed, the president said.
Recalling the long way the country has come in terms of human rights' protection, the president urged the people to join hands with his government to ensure that human rights in Taiwan are fully protected.
Vice President Annette Lu, who herself was a former political prisoner, also spoke at the ceremony. She comforted the former political prisoners in the country by saying that although their persecutors at the time were not brought to justice, they would be tried in heaven for their crimes.