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Councilors call for `Tibet Day'
SUPPORT:
The `Tibet Day' would fall on March 10, commemorating the Tibetan Uprising of 1959, and would show support for Tibetan autonomy
STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Saturday, Mar 22, 2008, Page 2
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Hsinchu resident Hsieh Chiu-yueh yesterday displays a tattoo of the Dalai Lama that she had done to show her support for Tibet.
PHOTO: TSAI CHANG-SHENG, TAIPEI TIMES
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A group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors yesterday urged the city government and council to designate March 10 "Tibet Day" to show support for Tibet's pursuit of autonomy.
The day is already observed in many countries around the world to mark the "Tibetan Uprising" against Chinese rule on March 10, 1959, that resulted in the killing of thousands of Tibetans by the Chinese military and forced the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, into exile.
DPP Taipei City councilors Chen Chia-ming (³¯¹Å»Ê), Chuang Jui-hsiung (²ø·ç¶¯), Chou Po-ya (©P¬f¶®), Chien Yu-yen (²§E®Ë), Wu Ssu-yao (§d«äº½), Li Ching-feng (§õ¼y¾W) and Yen Sheng-kuan (ÃC¸t«a) said Taiwan should join the world in supporting Tibet's autonomy and said they believed the move would be reciprocated in the event Taiwan faced a similar crisis.
They urged Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (°qÀsÙy) to help lobby other counties and cities to also designate March 10 "Tibet Day."
Tashi Tsering, vice president of the Tibetan Youth Association, expressed the hope that Taiwan, which he said has helped Tibet a lot, would continue supporting Tibet until it achieves independence.
Beijing has been condemned around the world for its military suppression of demonstrations held by Tibetan monks to mark the 49th anniversary of the 1959 uprising.
A group of Tibetans has staged a sit-in at Taipei's Liberty Square over the past few days to protest the crackdown and the group said it planned to extend the sit-in for another week to March 30.
Also yesterday, the city councilors called on the country's voters `to cast ballots in two referendums on joining the UN to be held alongside today's presidential election.
They said voters should express their opposition to Beijing's "one China" principle by backing the referendums, following a recent claim by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (·Å®aÄ_) that their passage would change the "status quo" in which he said "Taiwan and the mainland belong to one China."
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