Human rights groups said they would hold an event in Taipei on Sunday next week to commemorate the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
The event would remember Chinese democracy protesters who were injured or killed during the Chinese military’s violent crackdown at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, which lasted from the early hours of June 3, 1989, to the morning of June 4, New School for Democracy chairman Tseng Chien-yuan (曾建元) said in Taipei on Saturday.
Organized by the New School for Democracy, the Judicial Reform Foundation and Covenants Watch, the event is also intended to demonstrate the “resolve” of Taiwanese to safeguard democracy and freedom, he said.
Photo: Screen grab from the New School for Democracy’s Facebook page
Remembering the victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre is not one of China’s internal affairs, but a responsibility of Taiwanese society as a democracy, Tseng said.
Hong Kong used to hold the largest vigil on the anniversary of the massacre, but that has been greatly hampered after China imposed the National Security Law on the territory.
In Taiwan, the commemoration of the anniversary has sometimes been overshadowed by other events, such as the anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019, the 2020 presidential election in Taiwan, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year.
Tseng said he hoped that all of the candidates in next year’s presidential election take part in the event or express their position on the massacre publicly.
The presidential race would not just be “a simple election,” but “a fight between democracy and autocracy,” Tseng said.
Apart from the commemorative event, which is to begin at 2pm at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, the New School for Democracy on Saturday launched an exhibition titled “Bravery, Defend Democracy!” at the hall that runs until June 13.
“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
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
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)
RSS