The legislature's Procedure Committee yesterday decided to put off discussion of a resolution on China's handling of the recent unrest in Tibet until Friday, after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) failed to reach an agreement on the content of the resolution.
The DPP caucus submitted its draft of a resolution on Monday.
"The Chinese government should be condemned for its use of military force to oppress Tibetans, and for interfering with and interrupting media coverage of events," the draft said.
The KMT's draft, meanwhile, states that: "The human rights of Tibetans should be defended. The Chinese government should respect the value of human rights and ensure that human rights are protected in Tibet."
Asked to comment, Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑), acting secretary-general of the KMT caucus, said that the DPP's draft resolution was too harsh.
"The KMT supports the DPP's position, which is that violence and violations of human rights should be condemned. However, the DPP's draft is too harsh. That is why we came up with a draft that is less likely to increase cross-strait tension," Hsieh said.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), meanwhile, said that the DPP's version simply reflected the "truth." Tsai said the party's policy was that Tibetans should be able to determine their own future.
In related news, Taiwan Friends of Tibet president Chow Mei-li (周美里) yesterday condemned KMT Legislator-at-Large Liao Wan-ju (廖婉汝) for suggesting that Tibetan supporters in Taiwan had been mobilized by the Ministry of National Defense's Military Intelligence Bureau in a bid to influence the outcome of the presidential election.
Chow said Liao should be disciplined by both the Legislative Yuan and the KMT for his comments.
"I urge all supporters of Tibet to express their strongest condemnation of Liao," she said.
Tashi Tsering, vice president of the Tibetan Youth Association, accused Taiwanese legislators of caring only about what was going on in their own country. Meanwhile, he said, Tibet had captured the attention of the rest of the world.
"The [Tibetan independence] movement was initiated by people who were willing to risk their lives to protest against unfair treatment. The Tibet issue has captured the attention of the world and it is impossible that it was orchestrated by outside forces," he said.
Chow said Liao's ignorant remarks had shamed Taiwan's hard-won democracy and made the country an international laughing stock.
She also criticized Hsieh for saying that Taiwan's condemnation of China had created an uneasy atmosphere across the Taiwan Strait.
"China will never respect or reciprocate such submissive behavior. If Taiwan doesn't stand firm on the side of freedom and human rights, Taiwan will have no friends to turn to when it one day needs help," Chow said.
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