Tai Ji Men Has Been Persecuted by Taiwan Government for 24 Years
"24 years are way too long!" "We cannot stand it anymore!" Tai Ji Men dizi protested against Taiwan's persecution of Tai Ji Men
By Effie Chen, Community Contributor
Aug 16, 2020 3:40 am PT
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Updated Aug 16, 2020 11:20 am PT
Tai Ji Men dizi hold a banner that reads, “TAIWAN MUST END ITS 24-YEAR ILLEGAL TAX PERSECUTION OF TAI JI MEN,” in front of the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy in Cupertino, California on August 15, 2020.
"Taiwan Must End Its 24-year Tax Persecution of Tai Ji Men Now" read a banner held by Tai Ji Men dizi Jason Lu and Jennifer Hung in Cupertino, California on August 15. Tai Ji Men dizi (similar to students) in California, Australia, and Singapore accused the Taiwanese government of abusing Tai Ji Men through unjust taxation for over two decades, following the outrageous attempted auction of Tai Ji Men's property in Taiwan on July 31.
In protest of the Taiwanese government's abuses of their human rights, Tai Ji Men dizi also held various signs to express their outrage such as those that read "Taiwan Must Stop Abusing Taxpayer's Human Rights Now," "Taiwan Must Abolish Unjust Tax Bills and Illegal Auctions Now," and "Taiwan Must End 24-year Abuses of Tai Ji Men Dizi's Human Rights Now."
Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, grandmaster of Tai Ji Men, has led his dizi to promote love and peace through cultural exchanges since 1999. To date, they have self funded their trips to 101 nations and conducted over 3,000 cultural performances. It was praised as an international goodwill peace ambassador. In Taiwan, incumbent and former presidents, high-ranking government officials, 290 legislators, and other leaders have highly praised Tai Ji Men. On the one hand, the Taiwanese government has commended Tai Ji Men's contributions to Taiwan, but on the other hand, it has continued to persecute Tai Ji Men through unjust taxation for 24 years!
Established in 1966 in Taiwan, Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy is a cultural organization that carries forward the ancient Taoist philosophy, martial arts, and qigong. Its objective is to promote love, peace and a culture of conscience as well as improve people's physical, mental, and spiritual health. Its peace endeavors have won international recognition and high acclaim from world leaders, including heads of state, governors of California and Rhode Island, former Congressman Ed Royce, former California State Senator Bob Huff, and Nobel Peace Prize laureates. It was invited by the governor of Washington State in 1999 to take part in the SeaFair in Seattle. A delegation of 1,200 Tai Ji Men members participated in the parade. At the invitation of Senator Jesse Helms, the then Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Tai Ji Men organized a cultural program on Capitol Hill in 2000. That day was proclaimed by the mayor of Washington D.C. as Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy Day.
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The Tai Ji Men tax case was a false case fabricated by prosecutor Kuan-ren Hou in Taiwan with false evidence and false witnesses in 1996. Without any sort of verification, Taiwan's National Taxation Bureau (the NTB) issued false tax bills based on the prosecutor's untrue indictment. Back in 2007, Taiwan's Supreme Court already ruled that Tai Ji Men was not guilty of tax evasion or violation of tax codes and stated that the red envelopes given to the grandmaster of Tai Ji Men were gifts, and thus tax-free income. In addition, the group ordering of uniforms and other items by Tai Ji Men members had nothing to do with the grandmaster of Tai Ji Men and his wife and that was not for profit, and thus tax-free as well. The NTB should have revoked the illegal tax bills to Tai Ji Men 13 years ago, but the NTB has ignored the Supreme Court decision and illegally taxed Tai Ji Men to this day.
For 24 years, Tai Ji Men has won its case against the NTB 18 times in the Petitions and Appeals Committee of Taiwan's Ministry of Finance and Administrative Courts. However, an illegal auction of Tai Ji Men's property was conducted on July 31. Because there was no valid bid, a second auction is scheduled for August 21.
Although Taiwan is hailed as a beacon of democracy in Asia, its tax system is very backward. Its continued violations of human rights and disregard for the rule of law have outraged not only Tai Ji Men dizi but other champions of justice around the world. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist of religion, said that "Now, this case involving Tai Ji Men, is a residual of the past, it dates back to a different year in Taiwan's history, that was 1996. Now we are in 2020, and if Taiwan, as I am sure it does, wants to perpetuate its image of a free country, a democratic country, a country friendly to human rights and religious liberty, and even a regional example, I believe it is great time that this ghost of a different past is laid to rest, and justice is done for taxpayers and for Tai Ji Men." Kenneth Jacobsen, a professor of law at Temple University and advisor to former President Bill Clinton, said that "In the Tai Ji Men case, it's been determined that the taxes that have attempted to be collected are improper. And this is disturbing because the continuation and perpetuation of injustice is as bad as the commitment of that injustice in the first place. And that is what's happening here, in the Tai Ji Men tax case."
This case of injustice not only severely affects the rights of Tai Ji Men members and the people of Taiwan, but also negatively impacts the trade and business cooperation between Taiwan and other nations. Therefore, Tai Ji Men dizi around the world will continue to express their voices of protest and invite other conscionable people to pay attention to this case, hoping that the heightened awareness of this gross injustice will push the Taiwanese government to correct its mistakes and make justice prevail!
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