On February 13, 2025, during its 58th session, the UN Human Rights Council circulated a statement submitted by the NGO CAP-LC, spotlighting the unresolved case of Tai Ji Men. Titled “Violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief Through Tax Harassment,” it likens the unjust tax treatment of Tai Ji Men in Taiwan to prior instances of discriminatory taxation against groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses in France.
CAP-LC emphasises the parallels between past and present injustices, recalling how discrimination against Tai Ji Men escalated after political unrest in 1996. The statement reminds readers of a significant webinar on January 11, 2025, dedicated to discussing judicial independence in Taiwan without colonial-era biases, celebrating the Republic of China’s legal growth and the conclusion of “Unequal Treaties.”
The webinar, featuring scholars like anthropologist María Vardé, underscored the notion that discrimination against spiritual movements persists today, echoing the colonial ideologies of yesteryear. CAP-LC recounts the lengthy saga of the Tai Ji Men case, which saw the group’s leaders wrongly imprisoned, only to be fully acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2007; however, tax authorities continued to pursue unjust taxation despite this clear judicial ruling.
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision declaring no tax evasion had occurred, the National Taxation Bureau (NTB) precariously clung to previous tax bills from 1991 to 1996, claiming that funds received were payments for services rather than donations. CAP-LC recounted the tangled bureaucracy involving various authorities, each confirming that Tai Ji Men’s offerings were indeed non-taxable gifts, revealing an ongoing injustice against the group.
On multiple occasions, tax authorities continued to impose penalties and bills, famously clinging to a technicality regarding 1992 tax assessments, despite the overwhelming consensus in favour of Tai Ji Men’s innocence. The NTB’s obstinacy led to severe actions such as the auctioning of Dr. Hong’s assets, a sacred property for Tai Ji Men, intensifying public outrage and calls for a more equitable tax regime.
At the recent webinar, Hsu Jung-Hsin, a National Dong Hwa University professor, compared Taiwan’s tax issues to a medical crisis requiring urgent intervention, likening the need for legal reforms to a vaccination programme. They emphasised that if the problem remains unresolved, Tai Ji Men’s case exemplifies the urgent call for justice and fairness in Taiwan’s taxation framework.
CAP-LC advocates for heightened global awareness regarding taxation’s misuse as a tool against minority religions, asserting that this issue transcends Taiwanese borders, threatening innocent citizens worldwide. The ongoing concern has drawn considerable international scrutiny at the UN, marking the Tai Ji Men case as a symbol of religious freedom violations and bureaucratic corruption.
Through various statements submitted at different Human Rights Council sessions over the years, CAP-LC has implored an official investigation and resolution, consistently linking the situation of Tai Ji Men to broader themes of human rights violations and state power abuse. With renewed calls for justice, the hope remains that the case’s increasing international profile will hasten a fair resolution by Taiwanese authorities.
The UN Human Rights Council has addressed the unresolved Tai Ji Men case through a statement from CAP-LC, comparing its unfair tax treatment to past religious discrimination, particularly against the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Despite prior judicial rulings of innocence, the National Taxation Bureau continues to impose unjust tax bills, laying bare ongoing bureaucratic conflicts and the urgent need for reform. Calls for action stress the broader implications of such discrimination on an international scale.
The Tai Ji Men case remains unresolved, reflecting a troubling misuse of tax laws as instruments of persecution against minority religious groups. CAP-LC’s persistent advocacy highlights the importance of justice and equal treatment under international human rights standards. By drawing global attention to the case, it hopes to inspire urgent reform and address systemic injustices faced by spiritual movements like Tai Ji Men.
Original Source: bitterwinter.org
