Despite stormy weather conditions in Taipei yesterday, 49 people —Tibetans and Taiwanese alike — staged a bicycle rally in the city to commemorate Tibetan monks who set themselves alight to protest China’s rule of Tibet.
“Tibet belongs to Tibetans!” “China, get out of Tibet!” were among the slogans shouted by the 49 cyclists, who attracted the attention of passers-by and drivers as they cycled through the streets.
On each bicycle was a Tibetan flag, while each biker carried signs calling for freedom for Tibet.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“It’s the responsibility of each Tibetan to defend our freedom, especially the freedom of religion, since religion is at the root of our culture,” Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Taiwan president Tenzin Chompel told the crowd before the fleet of bicycles departed from a park across the street from Taipei 101. “When I said it’s our responsibility, I mean that we will defend our freedom even if that means scarifying our lives.”
“We gather here to remember those who sacrificed their lives for the Tibetan cause and we call on all freedom lovers to join us,” Tenzin said. “Let’s fight for freedom for Tibet! Let’s fight for the independence of Tibet!”
Tenzin’s comments referred to previous incidents in which Tibetans took their own lives in political protest. Following an uprising in Lhasa in March 2008, seven people — mostly monks — committed suicide to protest against Chinese rule.
Since 2009, five Tibetan monks have expressed their discontent with Chinese occupation of Tibet through self-immolation — four of which were suicides that took place this year.
Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) Taiwan president Fong Jyun-shan (奉君山) pointed out that when SFT Taiwan planned the event, it wanted to remember Tsewang Norbu, the Tibetan monk who self himself on fire on Aug. 15, on the 49th day after his death.
Buddhists believe one’s spirit knows whether it will be reincarnated, or enter hell or heaven, by the 49th day of one’s death.
“However, [during the preparation for the event] under the repression of the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party regime, two more monks committed suicide through self-immolation. So many suicide cases mean that the 2008 uprising in Lhasa never ended and China has never ceased its repression of Tibetans,” Fong said as he cried. “We have to think about what’s pushing the Tibetans to hurt themselves as an act of protest and we have to do something about it.”
Fong also called on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to uphold his campaign promises in 2008 to support Tibetans’ struggle for freedom, as well as supporting the Dalai Lama.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS