Members of the Indian community in Taiwan held a candlelit vigil in Taipei on Sunday to remember those who died in the terrorist attack in Mumbai last month.
“This is not the first time that India has suffered a terrorist attack — we’ve lost two prime ministers to terrorist violence and, since 2002, over 6,000 people have lost their lives in India in these mindless acts of violence,” Amit Narang, deputy director-general of the India-Taipei Association, told a crowd of more than 250 Indians living in Taiwan gathered for the vigil.
“All Indians are feeling this deep sense of outrage and anguish —not against any organization or state, but against an ideology of hatred, an ideology that believes in using violence against innocent civilians for resolving problems,” he said.
A massive terrorist attack targeting landmarks in Mumbai last month killed more than 172 people — including about 30 foreigners — and injured nearly 300.
“All Indians, in spite of differences in religion, social customs, languages and traditions, stand as one in opposing this ideology of hatred and violence,” Narang said.
After the brief remarks by Narang, the Indian national anthem was sung and a minute of silence observed.
M.G. Patel, better known as “Kaka” in the Indian community in Taiwan, said he felt especially strongly about the tragedy as a native of Mumbai. However, he also believed that the attack was not on Mumbai alone.
“Indians often say ‘the world is my family,’” he said. “So, it’s not only [an attack] on India, but on the whole world — everybody in this world must stand united.”
While shocked by the attack, Indians’ Association of Taipei president Lal Gajwani remains hopeful that the power of love may prevail.
“Terrorist acts are done by misguided people with no religion or state in mind,” he said.
“Hopefully, these misguided people will realize one day the power of love, peace and non-violence, then we can bring them back to the right track,” Gajwani said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS