Taiwan is a Han-language society that has frequent exchanges with China. Aside from sharing a common language, Taiwan is also the Han-speaking society with the largest concentration of Tibetan Buddhists outside China. Taiwanese Buddhists and Tibetan monks have been closely connected for decades. This gives Taiwan the opportunity to play a key role as an emissary of peace between Tibetans and the Han.
First, the roots of Tibetan uprisings have often been religion-based. Tibet is a society that centers its life and culture on religion. However, under communist rule, the Chinese government has not only politically intervened in, but also attempted to control, religion.
Beijing has regulations for the management of Tibetan temples, which include compulsory “patriotic education” classes. Beijing kidnapped the 11th Panchen Lama, who was recognized by the Dalai Lama and whose whereabouts are unknown to this day. It named another boy as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama in order to control Tibetan Buddhism, and thus Tibetans themselves.
This bid has not worked, but the Chinese are undeterred. Just last year, Beijing intensified its effort to control Tibetan Buddhists by passing a regulation on reincarnations in Tibetan Buddhism in an attempt to control the entire selection process.
The Chinese government has forced monks to oppose the Dalai Lama in public, or to become signatories of attacks on him. This has caused great anger among Tibetans and Buddhists. To Buddhists, libeling monks is a great sin — and criticism of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, even more so.
Many of the recent protests and peaceful demonstrations originated in temples and were initiated by monks. As Buddhists, regardless of sect, the knowledge of these truths would undoubtedly lead to deep empathy with the psychological and physical torment and pain of the Tibetan monks.
We therefore urge Taiwanese Buddhists to express their compassion and support the practice of Buddhism by all Buddhists in the forms chosen by them.
Responding to the threat that hatred between the Han and Tibetans could be intensified by the Chinese government’s actions, the Dalai Lama issued an appeal to the Chinese people on March 28: “Chinese brothers and sisters -— wherever you may be — with deep concern I appeal to you to help dispel the misunderstandings between our two communities. Moreover, I appeal to you to help us find a peaceful, lasting solution to the problem of Tibet through dialogue in the spirit of understanding and accommodation.”
This is a compassionate Dalai Lama, as a monk, praying for the planting of a seed of harmony rather than hatred between the Han and Tibetans. We believe that so long as the Tibetan people are not granted their freedom, Chinese will also never have peace, as the fates of Tibetans and Han Chinese are intertwined.
Thus, Taiwanese have the responsibility to reveal the truth to the Chinese and deliver the message of peace from the Dalai Lama and Tibetans, to prevent the continued escalation of hatred between Chinese and Tibetans.
Chow Mei-li is president of Taiwan Friends of Tibet.
Translated by Angela Hong
The conflict in the Middle East has been disrupting financial markets, raising concerns about rising inflationary pressures and global economic growth. One market that some investors are particularly worried about has not been heavily covered in the news: the private credit market. Even before the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, global capital markets had faced growing structural pressure — the deteriorating funding conditions in the private credit market. The private credit market is where companies borrow funds directly from nonbank financial institutions such as asset management companies, insurance companies and private lending platforms. Its popularity has risen since
The Donald Trump administration’s approach to China broadly, and to cross-Strait relations in particular, remains a conundrum. The 2025 US National Security Strategy prioritized the defense of Taiwan in a way that surprised some observers of the Trump administration: “Deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority.” Two months later, Taiwan went entirely unmentioned in the US National Defense Strategy, as did military overmatch vis-a-vis China, giving renewed cause for concern. How to interpret these varying statements remains an open question. In both documents, the Indo-Pacific is listed as a second priority behind homeland defense and
In an op-ed published in Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said that Taiwan should not have to choose between aligning with Beijing or Washington, and advocated for cooperation with Beijing under the so-called “1992 consensus” as a form of “strategic ambiguity.” However, Cheng has either misunderstood the geopolitical reality and chosen appeasement, or is trying to fool an international audience with her doublespeak; nonetheless, it risks sending the wrong message to Taiwan’s democratic allies and partners. Cheng stressed that “Taiwan does not have to choose,” as while Beijing and Washington compete, Taiwan is strongest when
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) are expected to meet this month in Paris to prepare for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). According to media reports, the two sides would discuss issues such as the potential purchase of Boeing aircraft by China, increasing imports of US soybeans and the latest impacts of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. However, recent US military action against Iran has added uncertainty to the Trump-Xi summit. Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) called the joint US-Israeli airstrikes and the
RSS