Hundreds of Tibetans and supporters yesterday took to the streets of Taipei to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising and the 110 Tibetans who have self-immolated to protest against Chinese occupation, while calling for an end to Chinese repression of Tibetans.
“Free Tibet! Tibet belongs to Tibetans! China, get out of Tibet!” demonstrators chanted in Tibetan, Mandarin and English as they marched from Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station to Taipei 101.
Leading the march was a group dressed as Chinese soldiers escorting tied-up Tibetan monks to re-enact the arrests of monks.
Photo: Chuang Pichi, Reuters
Following the actors were 110 people holding portraits of the 110 Tibetans who have self-immolated since 2009. They lay down on Zhongxiao E Road, near Guangfu S Road, and observed a minute of silence.
“We will never give up pursuing independence for Tibet, because we can only be truly free once Tibet is independent,” Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Taiwan chairman Tenzin Chompel told the crowd. “We will not believe the lies of the Chinese again — from the 17-point peace agreement to the Sino-Tibetan talks, China has never kept its word.”
Chompel was referring to an agreement signed between the Tibetan and Chinese governments in the 1950s, following China’s invasion of Tibet.
In the agreement, China promised to protect Tibetan culture, language, and religion, but, the promises were broken and led to uprisings against Chinese rule and the exile of the Dalai Lama.
Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association adviser Tashi Tsering said Tibetans do not hate Chinese.
“Tibetans and Chinese are all humans. As long as Chinese respect Tibetans’ rights to our own culture, religion, language and self-determination, we will respect the Chinese as brothers and good neighbors,” he said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) expressed his support, saying that as a people who had struggled against an authoritarian regime, Taiwanese understand the suffering of Tibetans and would support their struggle for freedom.
“Even today, there is still injustice and we should give each other support until all the repressed are liberated,” Su said.
Some Chinese — including Ao Bo (敖博), lead vocalist of the exiled Chinese rock band Punk God, and students attending universities in Taiwan — also joined the march.
“As a human living on Earth, I am obliged to help Tibetans gain the independence of their country through whatever I can do,” Ao said.
“That’s why this is the sixth time I have taken part in the rally,” he said.
Several DPP politicians, including legislators Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) and Chen Chieh-ju (陳節如), as well as Taipei City councilors Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏), Alan Lee (李慶鋒) and Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), also took part.
“In addition to showing support through taking part in the march, I’ve also proposed a refugee bill granting asylum to Tibetans or other asylum seekers,” Hsiao said. “Unfortunately, it has been blocked since March last year, when I first made the proposal. I hope my colleagues will give me a hand so that we may better protect rights of refugees.”
Near Taipei 101, some Chinese onlookers gave the thumbs-down to the marchers, while police had to force a car driven by a member of a pro-unification organization to pull over and turn off the Chinese communist music that it was blaring out.
Meanwhile, former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) voiced her support in a message on her Facebook page.
“Our grief for the more than 100 Tibetans who have self-immolated in the past three years is indescribable. As we are free, we should fight for the freedom of those who suffer and make the annual March 10 march a regular element in Taiwan’s social movement,” Tsai wrote.
Former US president John F. Kennedy expressed support for West Germany and people’s rights to pursuit freedom and human rights by saying that he was a Berliner in a speech in 1963, Tsai said.
“Today, the 54th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising, I offer the same support. I am a Tibetan. We are all Tibetans,” she wrote.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang and J. Michael Cole
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS