Exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer on Friday accused Taipei of bowing to Beijing’s pressure in refusing to allow her to visit Taiwan and demanded an apology from the President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration for linking her and the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) to “terrorists.”
“I am filled with regret, I am very disappointed,” she said during an emotional press conference in her Washington office.
On Wednesday, Kadeer accepted an invitation from black metal band Chthonic (閃靈樂團) frontman and Guts United Taiwan president Freddy Lim (林昶佐) to visit Taiwan in December.
On Friday, however, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) supported Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah’s (江宜樺) recommendation that the government not permit Kadeer to visit as the WUC, of which Kadeer is president, “is closely associated with an East Turkestan terrorist organization … and it would be in the best interests of Taiwan and its people to prohibit her from visiting the country.”
Jiang said that WUC secretary-general Dolkun Isa is also among the names of “important international terrorist organizations/individuals promulgated by the Interpol.”
Kadeer said it was the first time a country refused to grant her a visa, adding that over the last few years she had visited 28 countries.
“They all treated me with the greatest respect,” she said.
Beijing accuses Kadeer of inciting ethic violence and of encouraging China’s Uighur population to stage illegal protests.
Guts United Taiwan and the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps invited Kadeer to visit Taiwan after The 10 Conditions of Love, a documentary about her, became the center of controversy at the Kaohsiung Film Festival and China warned against the film being shown.
“I am very surprised at how quickly Taipei made its decision. I have not yet even lodged my application for a visa. They have turned me down before I had a chance to apply,” Kadeer said at the press conference.
“I have no links to any kind of terrorism,” she said. “My organization is against all violence.”
Her voice rising as she gesticulated for emphasis, Kadeer said: “The Taiwanese government is making false accusations. It is repeating exactly the same words China used against me. They are saying what the Chinese have told them to say.”
“Sure, I have fought for the freedom of my people. For this, the Chinese have called me a separatist and a terrorist. But all that I do is to defend the human rights of my people. I undertake my protests peacefully,” she said.
Kadeer said that despite the announcement, she would still make a formal application for a visa.
“The people of Taiwan want me to visit and I want to make that visit. I want to tell the people of Taiwan how my people have been treated by China,” she said.
“The world knows I am not a terrorist,” she said. “Taiwan is a democratic country. It is so sad that Taiwan has accepted China’s authority. It is sad for the Taiwanese people and it is sad for the world. I request that Taiwan should retract their false accusation of terrorism and apologize.”
Kadeer said she was confident that one day she would be able to visit Taiwan.
“The accusations that Taiwan have made come from the Chinese authorities. Whatever China says, Taiwan says the same thing,” she said.
Concerning the secretary-general of the WUC, Kadeer said he lived openly in Germany and had taken German citizenship. She said he traveled freely around the world and that Interpol had no interest in arresting him.
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