Hundreds of Tibetans and Tibet supporters yesterday marched in Taipei to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising against China, as well as to remember more than 126 Tibetans who have self-immolated since 2009 over freedom and rights in Tibet.
The parade departed from Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station shortly after a rendition of the Tibetan national anthem and a performance of a song about the uprising.
Demonstrators carried Tibetan flags and signs condemning Chinese repression of Tibetans and chanted “Free Tibet,” “Tibet belongs to Tibetans” and “China get out of Tibet” in Mandarin and in English.
Photo: Liu Yen-fu, Taipei Times
“On the 55th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising, I would like to first pay my deepest respect to our Tibetan brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of Tibet and to protest the illegal occupation of Tibet by China,” Tenzin Chompel, vice president of Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Taiwan, told the crowd before the start of the parade.
“I would like to call on the Chinese government to positively respond to demands made by Tibetans with their lives — including allowing the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet, freeing Tibetan political prisoners, stopping population transfer into Tibet, ending so-called ‘patriotic education,’ and ending nuclear tests, mining and the construction of dams in Tibet — which may affect millions of people in Asia — and allow international media outlets and human rights groups into Tibet,” he said.
Yiong Cong-ziin (楊長鎮), a representative of Taiwan Friends of Tibet, said China would not become a great nation because of its size or the number of missiles it has.
“China can only become a great and respected nation by becoming civilized, and it can start to become a great nation by supporting Taiwanese and Tibetan independence,” Yiong said.
New York-based Tibetan activist Tenzin Dorjee said that while many people may think that the nation was defeated by Chinese troops 55 years ago, when the Dalai Lama and hundreds of thousands of Tibetans fled Tibet, he holds a different view.
“China has failed to wipe Tibet off the map or make people forget about Tibet, which it had hoped to do,” he said.
“Hence, China is being defeated every single day, when people voice their support for Tibet’s freedom,” he added.
As the parade passed through busy shopping areas in the city, many people stopped to watch and take pictures.
There were Chinese tourists among the onlookers and they reacted differently to the parade.
One of them asked his Taiwanese tour guide: “Why are they allowed on the streets?”
“Because Taiwan is a country where people enjoy freedom of expression,” the tour guide said.
The parade ended at Taipei 101 and was followed by a brief rally.
Food delivery provider Foodpanda had 564 consumer disputes from January to last month and failed to attend many mediation sessions with local governments nationwide, the Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee said. In a news release earlier this month, the committee said that it investigated consumer complaints and mediations for Foodpanda and rival Uber Eats during the period, when the number of delivery orders jumped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Uber Eats had 80 consumer disputes, the committee said. Of Foodpanda’s consumer disputes, 368 resulted from delivery drivers canceling orders after customers could not be reached, 108 were related to the quality or quantity
PILLAGING PENGHU: A 7,539-tonne Chinese ship found mining sand in the Formosa Banks area was escorted by several CGA ships to a Kaohsiung harbor The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday announced that it had dispatched ships to intercept Chinese dredging vessels operating in the nation’s territorial waters near Penghu and detained 10 crew members, who were transported to Kaohsiung. A coast guard patrol discovered more than 20 dredging vessels in an area known as the Formosa Banks, 46 nautical miles (85km) southwest of Penghu County’s Cimei islet (七美) at about 5am on Wednesday. The agency responded by dispatching two patrol boats, the 3,000-tonne Kaohsiung and the 500-tonne Penghu, along with two frigates, to intercept the Chinese vessels, while an airborne observation unit was used to monitor
‘HONEYMOON’ IS OVER: A political science professor said that the Tsai administration’s popularity peaked after it successfully contained COVID-19, but is waning President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) approval ratings fell significantly this month in the wake of the government’s handling of the distribution of relief funds and stimulus coupons to people and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, a poll released yesterday by the New Power Party (NPP) showed. The poll showed that 68 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Tsai’s performance, down 8.9 percentage points from last month, while 21 percent said they disapproved of her performance. Her approval among respondents aged 20 to 29 fell 14.7 percentage points, the largest decrease when compared with other age
Passengers arriving at Taoyuan International Airport will find that most entrances to both terminals have been sealed off as part of its COVID-19 prevention efforts. Follow the signs and directions posted on the doors to find the nearest entry point. The airport has installed infrared cameras and thermometer guns at all open entrances, and all persons with a temperature of over 37.5 degrees Celsius are prohibited from entering the terminal. In addition, staff will take the temperature of those checking in to their flights in advance at Airport MRT stations A1 and A3. In accordance with the Centers of Disease
RSS