Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday criticized the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC), accusing it of being unwilling to get in touch with Tibetan exiles and the Tibetan government-in-exile or show concern for Tibetans’ struggle for freedom.
The Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee yesterday reviewed next year’s budget for the Mongolian and Tibetan Foundation, an organization resorting under the commission. As the foundation has asked for funding mostly to enhance ties with Mongolian and Tibetan regions under Chinese administration, DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) said it was overlooking the relationship between Taiwan and the exiled Tibetan government.
“Are you in touch with the Tibetan government-in-exile?” Chen asked MTAC chief secretary Chen Hui-ying (陳會英) during the meeting’s question-and-answer session.
“We have contacted some exiled Tibetans,” Chen Hui-ying said, but was interrupted by Chen Ming-wen, who insisted that Chen Hui-ying answer whether the MTAC or the foundation had been in touch with the exiled government. Chen Hui-ying did not answer directly.
“Okay, since you are the government agency in charge of Mongolian and Tibetan affairs, let me ask you this,” Chen Ming-wen said. “A new head of the exiled government has just recently been sworn in. His name is Lobsang Sangay. Do you know how old he is and which school he graduated from?”
Chen Hui-ying pondered the questions and finally answered that Lobsang Sangay was 43 years old and graduated from Harvard University, after an aide reminded her.
“You’re in charge of Tibetan affairs and you don’t know the answers? That shows you don’t care about exiled Tibetans,” Chen Ming-wen said.
He then asked: “Now, please tell me, what is the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile called?”
Chen Hui-ying answered: “Lobsang Sangay,” but when Chen Ming-wen said he was asking for his title, Chen Hui-ying uttered, after a hint from her aide: “Kalon… first Kalon?”
“No, it’s called Kalon Tripa. How can you not know this and serve as the chief secretary of MTAC?” Chen Ming-wen said.
“You are unable to answer any of my questions about the background of the new leader [of the exiled government], this shows that you have not been willing to get in touch with them at all,” he said.
He went on and asked for her comment on Lobsang Sangay’s remarks that China’s occupation of Tibet was an act of colonialism.
Chen Hui-ying said the MTAC “respects his personal comments,” leading Chen Ming-wen to slam the MTAC of surrendering to the “one China” policy.
Chen Hui-ying disagreed and said the government has always followed the “one China, with each side having its own interpretation” principle, without elaborating how the principle was different from the “one China” policy.
DPP Legislator Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財), on the other hand, slammed the MTAC for not showing any concern for the 10 Tibetans who protested Chinese rule of Tibet through self-immolation while many governments around the world had done so.
Commenting on what happened at the legislature yesterday, Taiwan Friends of Tibet president Chow Mei-li (周美里) said she was shocked by the MTAC’s ignorance of the Tibetan government-in-exile, and its reluctance to learn about the background of its new leader.
On the other hand, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Taiwan president Tenzin Chompel said he was not surprised that the MTAC knows nothing about exiled Tibetans.
“Actually, since the MTAC considers Tibet to be part of the People’s Republic of China, we don’t want to have anything to do with them anyway,” he said.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
RSS