Dozens of protesters mobilized by Amnesty International (AI) Taiwan and several other civic groups in the country staged a demonstration near the Israeli representative office in Taipei yesterday, demanding that Israel stop its military actions in the Gaza Strip.
“We cannot but feel the horror of the effects of so much bombardment and ground fire on the Gaza civilians, who have already suffered gravely from your government's blockade of even humanitarian aid and supplies,” said AI Taiwan chairman Peter Huang (黃文雄), reading an open letter to Israeli President Shimon Peres in English, before handing the letter to a staffer at the Israeli office.
“This does not mean, of course, that our feelings of moral horror does not extend to the lost lives of Israeli civilians,” Huang said. “On the contrary, it is for the sake of preventing more lives from being lost and for the possible beginning of a more durable peace that we're writing to you.”
PHOTO: CNA
Israel launched its latest offensive on Dec. 27 in an attempt to halt rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled territory.
According to wire reports, 22 Israelis have been killed in Hamas rocket attacks, while more than 760 Palestinians — mostly civilians — have lost their lives since Israel began the mass offensive.
Hung Hung (鴻鴻), a poet, read three poems during the protest — one by Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai that tells how Israeli civilians suffer from Hamas attacks, another by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish that recounts how a Palestinian mother mourns the death of her son after the Israeli offensive, and a third one that he wrote himself, describing his joy upon learning of the withdrawal of Israeli troops in 2002.
The reading was followed by a minute of silence for those who have lost their lives in the conflict.
A staffer from the Israeli representative office came out of the building to accept the protest letter from the demonstrators.
Meanwhile, Israeli Representative Raphael Gamzou criticized AI for not fully disclosing its intention when it asked for a meeting, but added that his invitation for an open dialogue remained.
Gamzou said the group failed to conduct itself with “integrity” and that the Israeli office only found out about the demonstration from local law enforcement authorities.
He said that by lodging a protest in front of the Israeli office, AI had already shown its bias.
The office had expected the group to present an anti-violence petition.
Gamzou said although he respects the group, he declined to meet with AI officers because he refused to be an “actor in their sitcom” as he was never informed by the group it was planning to stage a demonstration.
During the eight-year-long Hamas-initiated attacks against Israeli civilians, he said he never saw “any expressions of anger and sadness from Amnesty International Taiwan or any local NGOs.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS