TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.S.-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF) returned to Taiwan on Wednesday (Oct. 18) to present the latest installment of the Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF).
Each year, the forum assembles nearly a dozen activists from around the world to give brief presentations at a one-day event in Oslo, Norway. Beginning in 2019, events featuring a similar speaker line-up were held elsewhere.
“I am very happy to be in Taiwan once again. We believe that hosting it in Taiwan is important as we can establish a regional foothold in a country that is at the forefront of democracy and autocracy,” said OFF Founder Thor Halvorssen at a press conference to announce the event.
Halvorssen added that public and private interest in Taiwan has been overwhelming, as every seat in the forum is filled. “The struggle for freedom is the same in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Liberal democracies afford the opportunity to protect freedom of speech and human rights," he said.
The Human Rights Foundation was born out of personal trauma, as Halvorssen’s mother was shot by security personnel associated with the Hugo Chavez regime in Venezuela. He became frustrated by existing human rights organizations, which he described as playing a lot of games, including “criticizing some dictatorships but protecting others.”
“We are now 17 years old, and Oslo Freedom Forum is a program that we began 15 years ago. Our funding comes from corporations, individuals, and even governments, but no one who gives us funding tells us what to do," said Halvorssen. Elaborating on the forum's founding, Halvorssen said “It was born out of a time when many important human rights activists like Vaclav Havel, Elie Weisel, and Nelson Mandela had already published their biographies and were retired or dying. We wanted to bring them together for one last conference and capture their message on video this on video for the world."
Halvorssen lamented that some of the invited speakers passed away before the inaugural forum. However, the event was a resounding success, and activists as well as attendees encouraged him to host it annually.
Halvorssen visited Taiwan in 2010 at the invitation of the Ma administration, who sought to host a similar event, the Taiwan Freedom Forum. This event, however, was very careful to censor any criticism of China.
“When I arrived at the airport, I was picked up in a limousine with flags and everything. Just before I got to my hotel, they told me it was not acceptable to criticize China while in Taiwan. I was going to make just a few comments in my speech, but then when I was in my hotel room, I looked at the speech and rewrote it to make it all about China,” said Halvorssen. Upon returning to New York, Halvorssen penned an article for the Huffington Post that was critical of the Ma administration’s failure to address China’s human rights violations.
“Any conference about human rights has to talk about the CCP. It is the largest criminal syndicate in the world. It steals technology and IP, engages in massive hacking of businesses and individuals, and even censors entertainment. There are no successful films or even documentaries that criticize China because they will not secure distribution deals,” said Halvorssen.
Halvorssen said he believes that the topic of human rights has been overtaken by experts or representatives in the United Nations. “It’s not an expert from a think tank in Copenhagen telling you about the situation, but someone actually from South Sudan. They give us a different perspective,” he said.
“We are more than a conference, one of the most successful human rights events in the world," added Halvorssen.