The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday said its caucus would put forth a proposal in the legislature today to invite exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to visit Taiwan after the government refused to grant him a visa last month.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration denied the Dalai Lama a visa to speak at the Asia-Pacific regional conference of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women, saying the timing was not “opportune.”
The refusal reflects Ma’s kowtowing to China and pro-Beijing stance while sacrificing his previous pledge to uphold human rights, TSU Legislator Huang Wen-ling (黃文玲) told a press conference.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Huang said her party could not turn a blind eye to the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet, where at least 94 Tibetans had set themselves on fire and died over the past three years.
The proposal is to seek a legislative resolution to demand the government officially condemn Beijing’s brutal oppression of Tibetans and establish a panel to probe into the growing number of self-immolations, she said.
“We would also like to invite the Dalai Lama to visit Taiwan to highlight the value the nation places on human rights,” Huang said.
Ma has ignored several issues, including human rights violations and the plight of political prisoners in China, since taking office in 2008, TSU Legislator Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) said.
Taiwan should pay close attention to what is happening in China — in particular in Tibet — because “what is happening in Tibet now could happen to Taiwan in the future,” Lin said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS