Tibetans in Taiwan and supporters of Tibetan independence yesterday condemned the Chinese government’s repression of freedom of expression and religion, while calling on people of all nationalities to join a march on Sunday to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
“This year is the 11th year that Taiwanese will march with Tibetans in the streets of Taipei to commemorate March 10,” Yiong Cong-ziin (楊長鎮), a founding member of Taiwan Friends of Tibet, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
“However, our goal is not to stage the march forever. Our goal is to put an end to the event on that day we celebrate Tibet’s independence with our Tibetan friends — and peace-loving people from around the world — in the streets of Lhasa,” Yiong said.
Photo: Hsieh Wen-hwa, Taipei Times
“If the Chinese feel deeply upset about Japanese troops massacring Chinese during World War II, they should be equally upset about Chinese troops massacring Tibetans, because regardless of nationality, one group slaughtering another should always be condemned,” Yiong added.
Yiong said that the march on Sunday was not only for Taiwanese and Tibetans, and “we sincerely invite people of all nationalities, including Chinese, to join the march for freedom and human rights.”
Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association vice president Kalsang Lhundup said that while worldwide demonstrations on March 10 are to commemorate the Tibetan uprising in 1959, which was later violently suppressed by China, it is also to show support for Tibetans in Tibet who are suffering and resisting Chinese occupation.
“Since the Chinese occupation of Tibet in the 1950s, more than 1 million Tibetans have been killed and more than 6,000 Buddhist monasteries destroyed,” Kalsang said. “Since 2009, 126 Tibetans have self-immolated to protect our language, culture and religion.”
Students for a Free Tibet Taiwan chairman Fong Jyun-shan (奉君山) said that while there are about 2,000 Tibetan political prisoners in Chinese jails, all Tibetans should be considered to be political prisoners.
“This is because Tibetans living in Tibet have no freedom of speech and those living in exile have no freedom to go home,” he said. “Tibet may not become independent suddenly because of Sunday’s march, but I am sure that nothing will ever happen if we do not take the first steps.”
The rally is scheduled for 1:30pm at the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station, from where the march is to depart at 2pm.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS