Hundreds of people showed up for a silent sit-in in Taipei last night organized by a group of French people living in Taiwan “in memory of the victims of the attack on the offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris” and to show support for the freedom of expression.
The gathering, titled “Nous sommes Charlie” on Facebook, took place at Liberty Square last night, with people carrying placards reading “Je suis Charlie” and “Nous sommes Charlie” in French and Chinese. First standing and later sitting around an installation carrying a poster reading “我們是Charlie” (“We are Charlie”) and showing the 12 victims, the participants remained silent, some with lit candles.
Pierre-Yves Baubry, one of the initiators of yesterday’s event, said what happened in Paris “has shocked France and the French people living abroad. In many cities around the world people have gathered in the same way as [we are] tonight.”
Photo: CNA
He said besides the gathering in Taipei, there was also an event taking place simultaneously in Kaohsiung, both organized by French people living in Taiwan with the help of Taiwanese friends.
“There are two main significations; first is to mourn the victims in solidarity with the families, and also to support freedom of speech and freedom of the press” since the terrorist act was obviously targeted at the magazine for what it has expressed, he said.
“I felt the same way as I felt after 9/11,” said Florian, a French citizen who went to the vigil yesterday. “These journalists and cartoonists were part of our life; [the French people] grew up with them, who were not only working for one newspaper, but many.”
“They represent liberty of speech and freedom of what we could say and even think,” he said.
Nicolas, a French expatriate who has been living in Taiwan for more than 10 years, said the rally is to say that “we are not afraid of the [terrorist act]” and that “everybody has stood up against this barbarity and killing.”
“This is the worst [terrorist] attempt in France in the past 50 years. It was a great shock to France and all over the world not only for the attack itself, as 12 people have died, but also because it is a direct attack on the freedom of expression and press,” Bureau Francais de Taipei Director Olivier Richard said.
Worldwide people are demonstrating like people here are today,” he said, adding that the French office also held a minutes’ silence on Thursday morning and has opened a book of condolence.
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
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week. To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲) told a news conference yesterday. School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children’s Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs,
RSS