Exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer plans to sue the government for linking her organization to terrorism, a Taiwanese group said yesterday.
Taiwanese officials last week banned Kadeer from visiting Taiwan, saying her World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has close links to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement — a charge she flatly rejected. The East Turkestan Islamic Movement is listed as a terrorist organization by the US.
“She is planning to sue unless the Taiwanese government apologizes and clears her name,” said Marie Yang (楊月清) of the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps, one of the groups that had invited her to visit.
Kadeer, in an interview with the Chinese-language Next Magazine, expressed indignation at the terrorism allegations.
“The World Uyghur Congress has never had anything to do with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement. I do not wish for nor support violent means,” she told the magazine in Washington.
She reiterated that her organization had received grants from the US and blasted Taiwanese officials for making “reckless” and “irresponsible” remarks.
“Taiwan made the decision under pressure from China. But Taiwan’s calling WUC a terrorist organization, that is too much,” she told the magazine.
“I can back down or keep silent on many accusations, but I can’t remain silent on terrorist claims. I don’t care if the Chinese authorities are making the accusation because everybody knows they are liars,” she said. “Taiwan is a democratic country and it is irresponsible to accuse our organization [of terrorism]. So I am taking it seriously.”
Kadeer said she has asked the Taiwan Anti-Communist Youth Corps to represent her and file the suit with a Taiwanese court.
Yang said her group would do so.
“We have accepted her request and are discussing how and when to file the lawsuit,” she told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
Vice Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) said yesterday that the government stood by its decision.
“The decision is based on concerns for national security and national interest. We do not call her a terrorist ... There is no reason to give an apology,” he said.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS