Taiwan remains committed to building a future based on human rights and justice while removing hatred and discrimination, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday at an event to commemorate the Holocaust.
The event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day was hosted by the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei and the German Institute Taipei.
Republic of China diplomat Ho Feng-shan (何鳳山), who served as consul-general in Vienna from 1938 to 1940, and is credited with helping save at least 2,000 Jews seeking to flee Nazi-annexed Austria by issuing them visas to Shanghai, was also commemorated.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Diplomats, dignitaries, artists, religious leaders and others attended the event at the National Central Library in Taipei.
“Numbers don’t tell the whole story. Six million is not just a number. It represents the lives of 6 million people. The victims of the Holocaust were individuals, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends and neighbors, who lost their lives in a crime unparalleled in humanity,” Tsai said.
“We must never forget why their lives were cut short. We affirm our responsibility to never forget, never again. We must continue to reflect on all that we can do as individuals and together as a nation to ensure that this kind of event can never take place again anywhere in the world,” she said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Memorials and museums across Europe, from Auschwitz to the shores of the Danube River, point to a common responsibility of upholding universal values of human rights, freedom and justice, she said.
“This responsibility exists because of the past. It exists because we want to build a future free from hatred and discrimination,” Tsai said.
Taiwan will continue to stand together with the international community to ensure that this message is never lost or distorted, she said.
Over the past two years, Taiwan has worked to establish a human rights museum, which will engage with institutions in Israel, Germany and across Europe to improve human rights education in Taiwan for younger generations, she said.
Israeli Representative Asher Yarden, while commending Taiwan’s efforts to commemorate the Holocaust, condemned the continued use of Nazi symbols in Taiwan.
“We are still witnessing the use of Nazi symbols, Nazi flags, Nazi swastika and Nazi gestures in unacceptable ways in the heart of Taipei and other parts of Taiwan,” Yarden said. “The main reason for this unacceptable type of incident is lack of knowledge, including insufficient familiarity with the background of the Holocaust, the lesson that needs to be drawn from it, the significance [of the Holocaust] particular to the Jewish people, but also [its] universal [significance].”
In one incidents, Hsinchu Kuang Fu High School students wore Nazi-style uniforms and displayed Nazi symbols during a campus event in December 2016, which drew condemnation from the Israel Economic and Cultural Office.
However, Taiwan’s government and its public are taking steps to educate people about the Holocaust, including an upcoming, Taiwanese-produced animated film about Anne Frank, Yarden said.
The government is to introduce a program to train Taiwanese educators in Israel about teaching the history of the Holocaust, he added, encouraging Taiwan to continue its efforts to educate young people and end the use of Nazi symbols.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS