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.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS