An annual march commemorating the 1959 Tibetan uprising, the themes of which would be religious reincarnation, autonomy and resistance to transnational repression, is to take place in Taipei on Saturday, organizers said yesterday.
“Autonomy over reincarnation is not merely a religious matter, but lies at the core of Tibetans’ freedom of belief and national dignity,” Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa, chairman of the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, said at a news conference outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Chinese authorities are trying to control the recognition of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, not out of respect for Tibetan Buddhism, nor for the Dalai Lama himself, “but because they are unable to truly control the faith and spiritual strength of the Tibetan people,” he said.
Photo: Wang Yi-song, Taipei Times
The Dalai Lama’s followers consider him to be the spiritual leader of Tibetans and the most prominent figure in Tibetan Buddhism, which states that high-ranking lamas are reborn after death and that their successors are traditionally identified through religious procedures, Bawa said.
The reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama — now 90 and exiled from Tibet since 1959 — must be decided independently by the Gaden Phodrang Trust designated by the Dalai Lama himself, he said, adding that “any political interference lacks legitimacy.”
Transnational repression by Chinese authorities is spreading across the world and has penetrated Taiwanese society through “united front” work, intimidation and manipulation of public opinion, Bawa said.
“We commemorate March 10 each year not to reopen the wounds of history, but to remind the world that the expansion of authoritarianism will not stop on its own,” he said, adding that he hoped Taiwanese society would recognize the persistence of Tibetans’ 67-year struggle and see the warning signs in it.
On March 10, 1959, an estimated 10,000 Tibetans gathered in Lhasa to protest Beijing’s tightening control. The uprising was brutally suppressed, which led to the Dalai Lama’s exile to India and about 150,000 Tibetans fled into exile, the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan said.
Since 2004, Tibetans in Taiwan and local non-governmental organizations have held an annual march in Taipei in early March to commemorate Tibetan Uprising Day. This year’s march is set to begin at Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station at 1pm on Saturday, pass by the Taipei branch of the Bank of China and end at Taipei 101.
A candlelight vigil would also be held at Liberty Square at 7pm on Tuesday next week.
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