Human rights trump sovereignty

[dArKeR]

By Ming Chu-cheng ???

Saturday, Feb 28, 2004,Page 8

Recently the Taiwan High Court, on grounds of "mistaken jurisdiction," rejected a lawsuit filed by Taiwanese practitioners of Falun Gong against former Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin (???) and others. This has led to a controversy over whether Taiwan has the power to put another country's officials on trial.

What is most important in this is the dispute over which principle should take precedence -- human rights or national sovereignty.

From ancient times, nations have always been viewed as the primary unit in international politics. National sovereignty has also been viewed as sacrosanct since the 17th century.

However, the sanctity of national sovereignty has declined markedly since the end of World War II.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2004/02/28/2003100470