African Americans in Taiwan yesterday held a rally in Taipei to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, and were joined by Aboriginal rights advocates who spoke out about all racist violence.
The movement has gained renewed momentum after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died on May 25 when white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, sparking worldwide protests against police brutality and racism.
The rally, which started at 2pm in front of the National Taiwan Museum, attracted nearly 300 people, according to police estimates.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Stefanie Davis, of the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative, said that it was important to show solidarity with people in the US, where there have been numerous protests and rallies.
Asked how the group expects Taiwanese to respond to the event, Davis said they hope to change stereotypes about black people and promote mutual understanding.
“There are more [black] people than just besides the NBA players that you watch on TV. They are real people,” she said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
She said she hopes that when Taiwanese meet a black person, they would say “hello” instead of making comments, such as: “Oh, curly hair. What is going on?”
At the rally, KG Aniah said he got involved with the event for three reasons: “One, because I’m black. Two, because I’m black. Three, because I’m black.”
He said that it is time to give their parents and grandparents a rest, an apparent reference to previous rights movements, and stop being silent and start taking action to make a change.
Savungaz Valincinan, representing members of the Indigenous Youth Front, spoke at the rally in her native Bunun, saying: “Keep breathing.”
She said this is the first rally they joined that was organized by black people, with whom they empathized, as Aborigines have also experienced racism and exploitation.
Apart from speeches and performances, there were solemn recollections, including when people knelt on one knee in remembrance of Floyd and observed nine minutes of silence for black people killed by police.
John Liu (劉仲恩), a National Taiwan University associate professor of sociology, attended the rally with his family.
He said they have lived in several places across the US where they had become friends with many black people and empathize with the movement.
Racial prejudice is deep-rooted and manifests through different forms in the US, but has become more apparent during US President Donald Trump’s administration, he said.
University of Puget Sound associate professor of philosophy Sam Liao (廖顯禕) also attended the rally with his children.
The rally is a good opportunity for Taiwanese to observe different forms of oppression, while reflecting on their own prejudice against black people, Aborigines, Southeast Asian migrants and other minorities, he said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to