Ukrainians and their supporters yesterday held “Toward Victory” rallies in Hsinchu, Taichung and Taipei to show solidarity with Ukraine, as Russia’s invasion of the country enters its third month.
At a rally in front of Liberty Square in Taipei, dozens of people unfurled a 7m wide and 3m long handmade Ukrainian flag while singing the country’s national anthem.
Alex Khomenko, who is from Kharkiv, Ukraine, and one of the Taipei event’s organizers, told the crowd that resisting the Russian invasion was “the first and last thing we [Ukrainians] will think of when we wake up and go to bed every day.”
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Khomenko, a member of Taiwan Stands With Ukraine (TSWU), a volunteer organization founded in Taipei in response to the Russian invasion, said that the rally was held to coincide with Victory in Europe Day, which marks the formal acceptance of Germany’s surrender to the Allies on May 8, 1945.
“The day marks the day peace returns to Europe 77 years ago, when one country wanted to conquer others,” Khomenko said, adding that this year’s anniversary was overshadowed by Russia’s attempts to do the same.
As yesterday was also Mothers’ Day, Khomenko added that he, Ukrainians and their supporters in Taiwan were heartbroken for all Ukrainian mothers.
TSWU’s founder, a Taiwanese who identifies only as Jen, said that Ukrainian mothers and children are suffering from the war.
She called on the international community to take action over alleged incidents of sexual violence perpetrated by Russian troops in Ukraine.
Jen said that Russian soldiers are using rape as a weapon against Ukrainians, including children, and urged people to take a stronger stance against sexual violence in conflict zones.
The group’s Ukrainian flag was made by Migle Matekunaite, a Lithuanian living in Taiwan, TSWU said.
Matekunaite and her Polish husband have been participating in events across Taipei to show support for Ukraine, the group said.
Matekunaite said that it took her seven hours to make the flag.
Other rallies were held at the Hsinchu Railway Station Square and the Taichung Railway Station Square, TSWU said.
Kyiv has been resisting the Russian invasion force since Feb. 24, the day Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the commencement of a “special military operation” in pursuit of the “demilitarization and denazification” of the country.
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
RSS