World Uyghur Congress president Rebiya Kadeer has accepted an invitation from the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) to visit Taiwan at the end of March, which would be the activist’s first visit to the nation.
The visit, if approved, would see Kadeer hold talks with Taiwanese activists and politicians about human rights, self-determination and independence.
In a video played at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, Kadeer expressed a deep interest in visiting Taiwan, and connecting with local activists and politicians, urging the government to give the green light to her visit.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“Taiwan is in unity with East Turkestan, Tibet and Southern Mongolia. We have to help each other, and exchange opinions and experiences at all times,” Kadeer said. “We support all the movements you launch in the name of freedom and we also need your support.”
She congratulated President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on her election victory last year and expressed support for Tsai’s administration.
Japan Uyghur Association president Ilham Mahmut said Kadeer had long been planning to visit Taiwan, but the administration of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) denied her entry in 2009, even though Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) had helped file a visa application for Kadeer’s participation at a film festival.
Having criticized the former administration’s treatment of the human rights activist, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), now in power, should be open to Kadeer’s visit, Mahmut said.
Though enshrined in China’s constitution, religious freedom is not allowed in reality, with conflicts between Uighurs and Chinese authorities often resulting from forceful intervention in religious practices, such as growing a beard and wearing a hijab, he said.
Press freedom is also prohibited and China’s state-run news outlets only publish stories that demonize Uighurs as terrorists, he added.
While China sources one-third of its energy from East Turkestan, about 90 percent of Uighurs are farmers and are living in poverty, he said.
“Should Uighurs not resist [China] under those circumstances?” he asked. “We are not different from Taiwanese. We are not different from people in other countries. We yearn for freedom and hope to run our own country on our ancestral lands.”
Kadeer’s visit would forge a bond between people subject to China’s suppression such as Uighurs, Taiwanese, Tibetans, Mongolians and Hong Kongers, TSU Chairman Liu I-te (劉一德) said.
Local pro-independence groups are generally indifferent to independence movements in other nations, but collaborating with foreign independence groups is necessary to counter China, Liu said.
“The TSU will stand together with the so-called separatist groups and help them resist Chinese imperialism,” Liu said.
The government should forsake the Constitution’s territorial claim on China — including Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Tibet and the South China Sea — and draw a clear line between Taiwan and China, he added.
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) yesterday said any individual’s visa application would be handled by the concerned government agencies in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Additional reporting by CNA
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
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS