Thousands of Tibet supporters gathered in Taipei yesterday for a marathon concert organized by civic groups as part of a series of activities to commemorate the 1959 uprising in Tibet. Chanting “Free Tibet” and “Long live the Dalai Lama,” the crowd waved banners and Tibetan flags.
In unison, the crowd signed the letter “T” for Tibet with their arms after watching a short video clip of a speech by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who invoked a blessing on the performers and the future of Taiwan.
Hosted by Guts United, Taiwan, the Taiwan Indie Music Association and Taiwan Friends of Tibet, the “50th Spring: Free Tibet” concert featured 10 independent bands and singers who entertained the audience from the early afternoon through the late evening. Organizers estimated more than 4,000 people attended the event yesterday.
PHOTO: AP
Retired teacher Chen Hsiao-cheng (陳孝誠), 67, said the concert was important because not enough young people understand the plight of Tibetans and how Taiwan’s apathy toward Tibet could adversely affect their freedom in the long run.
A visitor from the US, Jennifer Donnell, said the public’s power and anger were palpable and that Beijing should listen to what people have to say, not just in Taiwan, but everywhere in the world, about its actions in Tibet.
Amnesty International Taiwan vice chairman Lee Ming-tsung (李明璁) said civic groups have to shoulder the responsibility of safeguarding freedom and human rights at a time when the mainstream media and the government are not doing enough.
“Freedom does not just fall from the sky, but is rather something that we need to fight for and protect, as it might slip away bit by bit if we let down our guard and take it for granted,” Lee said.
People in Taiwan should tell the government to pay more attention to human rights issues in China, Lee said.
Former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) also took part in the event yesterday, saying that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) policy toward Tibet was the antithesis of public opinion and that people should voice their support for freedom in Tibet.
“Despite the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] brutal oppression of the Taiwanese people during the White Terror, Taiwan still emerged as a democratic country that values freedom and human rights. This government’s unsupportive attitude toward Tibet and the Uighurs does not at all represent the people of Taiwan,” Su said.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS