Top Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials during a visit with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India, vowed to forge closer cooperation with the exiled Tibetan government and to form an international “Silk Road of Democracy” (民主絲路) to fight Chinese oppression.
A direct channel has been established with the Dalai Lama after their fruitful talks from Wednesday to Friday last week, which focused on the strength of Taiwan’s democracy and protests in Hong Kong, DPP Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said yesterday.
Luo was accompanied by party spokesman Lii Wen (李問) and public relations director Hsieh Yu-li (謝雨利) for their meeting with the Dalai Lama and officials from the exiled Tibetan government.
Photo from Lii Wen’s Facebook via CNA
“Taiwan’s main strength lies in its democracy,” Luo quoted the Tibetan spiritual leader as saying.
Although it is threatened by Chinese missiles and other intimidation tactics, “Taiwan’s strongest countermeasures include democracy, freedom and the comprehensive preservation of traditional culture,” Luo added.
Taiwan would build a broad international alliance that brings together Tibetans, Uighurs, Hong Kongers, Inner Mongolians and overseas Chinese democracy advocates to promote freedom, human rights and democratic values in China, Lii said.
The project would be called the “Silk Road of Democracy” to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Lii said.
“The DPP and Tibetans share much of the same values and stand together under the same threatening force. Therefore, we shall forge a network with Tibetans, Uighurs, Hong Kongers and Inner Mongolians to pursue and consolidate democracy,” Luo said.
Asked whether there are plans to invite the Dalai Lama to Taiwan, Luo said that while he was representing the DPP and not the government on the trip, Taiwan is a free nation and the door is always open for people who seek freedom and democracy.
He said that the DPP welcomes the exiled Tibetan leader, who has not visited Taiwan since 2009.
“It is up to the willingness of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” Luo added. “He has fond memories of his previous trips, but he said that his advanced age is not suitable for taking long flights.”
The DPP entourage also met with other key officials, including exiled Tibetan Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay, Legislative Speaker Pema Jungney, Secretary for Foreign Affairs Sonam Norbu Dagpo and Tibetan Youth Congress president Gonpo Dhondup.
Luo quoted the Dalai Lama as saying that he had not ruled out Taiwan as a location for his reincarnation, since it would take place in a Buddhist country.
Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan president Tashi Tsering conferred hada, traditional Tibetan silk scarfs, on Luo, Lii and DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) to thank them for the party’s efforts in helping him obtain Republic of China citizenship.
As an exile, he has never seen his Tibetan homeland and has lived in Taiwan for 21 years, Tashi said.
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
TWO HEAVYWEIGHTS: Trump and Xi respect each other, are in a unique position to do something great, and they want to do that together, the US envoy to China said The administration of US President Donald Trump has told Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) “we don’t want any coercion, but we want [the Taiwan dispute] resolved peacefully,” US ambassador to China David Perdue said in a TV interview on Thursday. Trump “has said very clearly, we are not changing the ‘one China’ policy, we are going to adhere to the Taiwan Relations Act, the three communiques and the ‘six assurances’ that were done under [former US president Ronald] Reagan,” Perdue told Joe Kernen, cohost of CNBC’s Squawk Box. The act, the Three Joint Communiques and the “six assurances” are guidelines for Washington
DEEPENING TIES: The two are boosting cooperation in response to China’s coercive actions and have signed MOUs on search-and-rescue and anti-smuggling efforts Taiwan and Japan are moving to normalize joint coast guard training and considering the inclusion of other allies, the Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. Both nations’ coast guards in June sent vessels to the seas south of the Sakishima Islands to conduct joint training, the report said, adding that it was the second joint maritime training exercise since the nations severed formal diplomatic ties in September 1972. Japan dispatched the Nagoya Coast Guard’s Mizuho, a 134m, 6,000-tonne patrol vessel which can carry a helicopter, while the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sent the 126m, 4,000-tonne Yunlin, one of its largest vessels, the report
RSS