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Supporters of Tibet mark anniversary with march

Carrying Tibetan national flags and a portrait of the Dalai Lama, a group of Tibetans set off from Kaohsiung’s Central Park yesterday on a march to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising. PHOTO: CNA

Nearly 200 supporters, including more than 100 exiled Tibetans living in Taiwan, marched in Kaohsiung City yesterday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising.

Waving Tibetan national flags, the marchers shouted “Support Freedom in Tibet” and demanded the Chinese government stop its persecution of Tibetans.

“Beijing has claimed that both Taiwan and Tibet are inseparable parts of China and look what has happened in Tibet. Taiwanese should show more empathy toward the Tibetan situation because we are on the same side,” said Jade Kuo (郭聖潔), secretary of the Taiwan Friends of Tibet (TFT), urging Beijing to open up the Tibetan border to allow access to foreign media.

“The only thing we ask from President Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] is to allow the Dalai Lama to visit Taiwan because it would mean so much for his followers here,” she said.

TFT president Chow Mei-li (周美里) said that although Taiwan is a free society, the people must never forget the terror of a police-state and be mindful of the plight of Tibetans.

“We have to find ways to let people know that sacrifices made by Tibetans have not been ignored. Taiwan must not be absent from the worldwide movement for human rights in Tibet,” Chow said.

Gathered at Kaohsiung City Central Park, the marchers sang the Tibetan national anthem while unfurling the Tibetan national flag. Organizers put on a short skit to reenact the bloody clampdown by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on Tibetan fighters five decades ago. Both Kaohsiung City and county declared yesterday as “Tibet Day.”

“China has shamelessly tried to alter history by forcing [the world] to recognize Tibet as part of its territory,” said Dawan Tsering, head of the Taiwan-based Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

“The argument is unreasonable and illogical. History will forever remain the same. It would be absolutely dishonest to tamper with history for the sake of politics,” Tsering said, calling on Tibetans everywhere to continue fighting for Tibetan autonomy.
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