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Tibetan freedom torch reaches summit of Yushan

A team of Tibetans and Taiwanese yesterday carried the Tibetan Freedom Torch to the summit of Taiwan’s tallest mountain, Yushan in Nantou County, as part of a five-month 50-city relay to highlight the Tibetans dream of freedom. Photo: AP

Tibetans in Taiwan, Tibet support and human rights groups members cheered as they reached the top of Yushan (玉山) yesterday while carrying the Tibetan Freedom Torch, completing the Taiwan leg of the torch relay.

“Free Tibet! Free Tibet,” they cheered, waving Tibetan flags excitedly after they finally reached Yushan’s summit around 7:30am yesterday. The sound and images were broadcast live via the Internet on a Taiwan Friends of Tibet (TFOT) Web site. The climbers then lit the torch atop Taiwan’s highest peak.

“Lighting the torch atop Jade Mountain [Yushan] was the most unforgettable moment,” Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association chairman Rinzin Tsering told the Taipei Times via telephone on his way back to Taipei.

“I’m not used to climbing mountains, so my feet are sore, but it’s okay,” he said. “I’m really proud of it.”

“Today [yesterday] is the Dalai Lama’s birthday, I think this is the best birthday gift for him,” TFOT chairwoman Chow Mei-li (周美里) told a press conference later in Taipei to celebrate the accomplishment.

Own Su-jei (翁仕杰), deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan-Tibet Exchange Foundation, said the summit of Yushan was chosen as the place to light the torch because “Yushan stands on a latitude that’s very close to Mount Everest — home of Tibetans.”

“We want to send the message to the Tibetans that we heard their voices, and we would like to stand behind them in their struggle to achieve freedom,” he said.

The Tibetan Freedom Torch Relay was initiated by the International Tibet Support Network and began on March 10 — the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising in Tibet — at the ancient Olympia in Greece. After passing through more than 30 cities in 18 countries across the world, the torch arrived in Taiwan early on Friday morning.

According to the plan, the torch will continue to travel to Uruguay and India before reaching Tibet on Aug. 7, a day before the Beijing Olympic Games are set to begin.
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