A number of human rights groups — including the Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association and the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Taiwan — yesterday announced a series of events to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising, while advocating for the Tibetan cause to the world.
“It’s been more than half a century, and we Tibetans living in exile are still waiting for the opportunity to go home, while as many as 130 Tibetans living in Tibet and five living abroad self-immolated between 2009 and 2014 to protest the Chinese occupation of Tibet,” association president Tashi Tsering, a Tibetan, told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan.
“We would like to invite all Taiwanese to stand with us to remember those Tibetans who have been sacrificed, and to voice our call for a free Tibet,” Tashi said.
Tashi explained that on March 10, 1959, a demonstration by Tibetans in Lhasa to stop the Dalai Lama from accepting an invitation to see a drama performance in a Chinese military camp turned into an uprising against Chinese rule.
“The Dalai Lama was therefore forced to go into exile until today, while more than 1.2 million Tibetans inside Tibet were killed, and over 6,000 Buddhist monasteries were destroyed,” he said.
“Since then, we Tibetans have never ceased in our pursuit for a free Tibet, for the freedom of religion in Tibet and for the preservation of Tibetan culture,” Tashi said.
Chiu E-ling (邱伊翎), secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, said that as members of the global community who have shown much concern for human rights issues in the past few years, “We Taiwanese should not hesitate to join people around the world to speak out for the Tibetans.”
This year, events to commemorate the Tibetan uprising include a march that starts from MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station in Taipei at 2pm tomorrow, and another march in Kaohsiung that begins from Central Park (中央公園) at 6pm on Tuesday.
In addition, a candlelit vigil is planned to take place in Taipei’s Liberty Square at 7pm on Tuesday.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS