Civic groups yesterday held a flag-raising ceremony in Taipei to observe the independence of the former East Turkestan Republic, urging nations to condemn acts of Uighur genocide and to support the human rights and sovereignty of Uighurs in the region.
Members of the Taiwan East Turkestan Association and representatives from the Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project, along with Taiwanese civic groups, assembled in front of the Legislative Yuan and raised the national flag of the former republic while singing its anthem.
Taiwan Parliamentary Human Rights Commission secretary-general Wuer Kaixi yesterday said that the national anthem’s name is translated as the March of Freedom or the March of Independence, adding that the lyrics speak of Uighurs who sacrificed their lives for liberty.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“We hope one day that this anthem will be played across the lands of East Turkestan,” he said.
Taiwan East Turkestan Association president Ho Chao-tung (何朝棟) said the presence of Uighur labor camps and attempts to commit genocide against Uighurs are globally recognized truths.
“Only by obtaining sovereignty can one uphold and safeguard human rights,” Ho said.
Uyghur Human Rights Project outreach specialist Tashken Davlet said the international community is aware of China’s actions against Uighurs and other Turkic minorities in the region.
The independence movement is now one in which Uighurs fight against genocide and destruction of culture, and serve to unite the people and allow them to be proud to identify as Uighurs, Davlet said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS